Malmesbury’s Big Athelstan Dig
2024 marked the 1100th anniversary of the accession of King Athelstan (the first King of England), who was later buried in the Malmesbury’s abbey. As part of Malmesbury’s celebrations, Cotswold Archaeology collaborated with the Athelstan 1100 organising team to set up a test-pitting weekend, or ‘Big Dig’, to help discover more about the town’s history.
Cotswold Archaeology fieldwork and community engagement staff managed a series of 13 test pit excavations during the community event, with over 200 volunteer diggers form the local community, Malmesbury Secondary School, the North Wiltshire Young Archaeologist Club and a local scout group. The excavations were also part of a public trail with over 1000 people visiting the town’s weekend activities. Members of our post-excavation team were also present at a Finds Centre in the Town Hall, helping to process and identify artefacts as they were found.
After the dig and back at our Kemble office, we worked with the volunteers to process and record the finds. They were displayed a few months later at an exhibition in Malmesbury Town Hall, where our staff were on hand to answer questions. We even uncovered a sherd of late Anglo-Saxon pottery, possibly from the time of King Athelstan! We relished the opportunity to give so many local people the opportunity to experience the thrill of excavating and the chance to share our findings with them. Cotswold Archaeology staff also gave a public talk about our findings.
Kim Power, who led the Athelstan 1100 team organising the dig said: “Malmesbury had great fun last summer [July, 2024] and this weekend [finds display, March 2025] discovering more about the history of Malmesbury and we would really like to thank the site owners, Cotswold Archaeology, the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and all the organisations and volunteers across the town who helped make the Big Dig possible. It will remain as an unforgettable part of Malmesbury’s Athelstan 1100 celebrations.”
