Calls for volunteers to become budding archaeologists have been made as a project to excavate the churchyard, which is next to the building that in the 19th century was used to house the Govan Stones, commences for three weeks this month.
Carved in as early as the ninth century, the Viking-age treasures, known as the Govan Stones, have lain in Govan Old churchyard for more than 1000 years.
The monuments and their symbols represent some of the best surviving evidence of the early medieval Kingdom of Strathclyde and have now been rehomed inside the church.
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The excavation of the churchyard, which is home to Christian burials from around 500 AD, aims to build on previous archaeological work where volunteers and experts have discovered many sunken monuments and unknown gravestones.
“The thing that makes it really stand out [the churchyard] is that it has survived intact,” Professor Stephen Driscoll from the University of Glasgow, who is leading the project, said.
“The churchyard seems to be an early Christian layout, and it seems to still be here, at least the boundary.
“The church itself has a collection of gravestones that have a collection of early medieval sculpture, most of which date from about 900 to 1100.”
For at least 1500 years, the churchyard has been a prominent feature in Glasgow, next to the River Clyde, and has historically been an important focal point of Christian worship.
Burials in the churchyard date back to the earliest phase of Christianity in Scotland.
However, most of the 236 gravestones in the churchyard today date from the 16th to the 19th centuries, as they span a period when Govan saw a boom in population growth due to the rapid rise of industry in the city.
Driscoll explained that the Govan Stones from the site is the largest collection of early medieval sculpture that’s not in state care in Scotland and that it’s probably the largest collection of early medieval sculptures from the Viking age.
“It’s got a real kind of distinctive character,” he said.
“The most remarkable thing in the collection is there are very distinctive gravestones which are shaped like Viking houses, which are called hogback stones, but they’re meant to be representations of buildings.”
Driscoll added: “Then there’s a sarcophagus that held the relics of Saint Constantine, and he’s an early medieval royal saint, and this collection of sculpture seems to be like the dynastic burial ground of the kings of Strathclyde.”
The churchyard and its stones were designated as a Scheduled Monument by Historic Environment Scotland in 1993 and have been looked after by the Govan Heritage Trust since 2016.
Hundreds of volunteers have participated in excavation work between 2022 and August this year, with three more weekends of planned archaeological work scheduled for this month.
Driscoll said the site has been used not only to train Glasgow University students but also to get the local community involved.
He said community digs, like the ones planned for this month, are great ways for the local residents to get involved and engage with their heritage.
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“We need to build up a kind of body of people to help sustain the building in the future,” Driscoll said.
He added: “We need people who are interested, knowledgeable and engaged, and archaeology is kind of an easy way to get people involved.”
Last year, a similar project ran over three months and culminated in September, which saw around 100 people take part.
Driscoll (below) explained that there is currently a large trench open in one corner of the churchyard which is being investigated as it is an area where they know there are early medieval structures.
He added that volunteers will also help to investigate the rest of the churchyard in a bid to help identify buried stones.
Because the churchyard has not been actively used for burials for almost exactly 100 years, a lot of the monuments have become overgrown.
“What we’re doing is systematically working across the graveyard and probing and identifying buried stones.
“Lifting the grass off and then drawing, photographing, recording, basically whatever we find.
“We’re just kind of working our way through it all, so it’s kind of a study of the churchyard and in an archaeological way that people can participate in.”
Driscoll added that he hopes the community excavations, which take place in the first three weeks of this month, will help equip people with the skills to help look after the site.
He said he hopes it will build confidence in people who will become active members within the trust to look after the longevity of the historic community asset.
For anyone who is interested in attending one of the excavations, they can find more information here or on the Govan Heritage Trust’s website.
