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The Isle of Man may be a small and – particularly when Time Team was there – wet and windy island stuck in the middle of the Irish Sea. But it's crammed full of influences from British, Irish and even Viking incomers. In fact, it's been a cultural crossroads for thousands of years, including a time when Christianity vied with Norse paganism to be the island's principal religion.
One of the legacies of this battle for dominance were the keeills – small, simple chapels that were once found scattered right across the island. Yet today, every single one of these ancient monuments has been destroyed by agriculture, built over by later medieval churches, or dug often very badly by antiquarians.
All, that is, except one which has lain protected beneath the seventh fairway of the Mount Murray golf course, marked only by a patch of unkempt grass and a single standing stone atop a small mound. Time Team was given the unique opportunity to excavate the only known untouched keeill remaining on the Isle of Man.
Unique opportunity.
The keeill excavated by Time Team on the Isle of Man was the only such site not to have been touched in previous excavations – particularly those conducted by Victorian and Edwardian antiquarians, whose methods left a lot to be desired by modern archaeological standards. As such, it offered a unique opportunity to investigate one of these ancient chapels, which were once found scattered right across the island.
The site is known as Speke Farm keeill, near Douglas in the south of the island. Until the 1990s the area of the keeill was farmland known to be the location of an ancient burial ground. In 1992 an application was made to construct a golf course on the land and, with the keeill identified by Manx National Heritage as a site of national importance, the seventh fairway was re-routed to avoid the site.
The area of the keeill was partially surveyed using geophysics at the time. That survey (coincidentally carried out by Time Team geophysicist John Gater) revealed an outline of the keeill structure, a surrounding ditch and bank, a further rectilinear structure and several other anomalies thought to represent burials. Further surveys carried out with modern equipment during the Time Team dig gave an even clearer picture of what lay beneath the surface, yielding a rich crop of potential targets.
A 1,400-year-old plait.
These included six graves uncovered by the diggers in just one hour on the first day. One of them contained the stunningly well-preserved remains of a woman, including a knot of plaited hair – the first time that such a discovery had been made on a Time Team dig. Carbon dating revealed that the burial took place around 590 AD, making this the oldest Christian burial found on the Isle of Man.
The keeill itself is thought to have been built more than 400 years later, in the early 11th century. About four metres wide and roughly twice as long, it consisted of rough stone walls supported by turf embankments and buttresses with a narrow door in one of the side walls. At the eastern end, masses of quartz pebbles formed a surface around an altar. A small stone box alongside the eastern wall, about 40cm across, was thought perhaps to have been a repository for holy relics.
The keeill stood in its own defined enclosure with a large burial area beyond. It had been built on an earlier Christian site, which in turn had been erected on a much older Bronze-Age site, surrounded by an outer ditch with prehistoric burials inside. It is thought that an inner ditch, concentric with this outer one, was dug in the 18th century to protect the remains of the keeill when a road was built through the site.
St Patrick and the first Christians.
According to tradition, the first Christian missionary to the Isle of Man was St Patrick. He is said to have landed on St Patrick's Isle, a small islet that is now the site of Peel Castle, at some point during the 5th century AD.
One of Patrick's first acts was to see off the ancient magician, Manannan, who had dominated the island until then and whose ability to turn himself into a three-legged creature ('Whichever way you throw me, I stand') is said to be the basis of the triskelion symbol that appears on the Manx flag.
Whatever the truth behind the legends, and whether or not it was Patrick himself who first brought Christianity to the Isle of Man, it was certainly monks from the monasteries that he founded who were foremost in spreading the Christian faith across the Irish sea.
Early keeills.
These early missionaries, the first of whom arrived on the Isle of Man around 500 AD, brought with them knowledge of agriculture and other skills as well as their faith, which helped them to win the trust of the people who lived there. They built tiny, simple chapels, or keeills, from which they would preach and minister to the local community.
The earliest of these were made of turf and vegetation, and have all been lost. The remains that have survived date from a later period; most keeills are thought to have been in use from the 8th century onwards, falling out of use by around the 12th century. They were mainly built with unhewn or roughly worked stones, slabs and rubble, supplemented with earth and turf supporting structures. Some later keeills utilised shell mortar and cement in their construction but most were fairly crudely put together.
The majority of these structures were surrounded by burial grounds, which contained the earliest Christian memorial stones (carved with crosses) found on the island. They were usually built on a natural or artificial mound, often the site of earlier burials or monuments, and in many cases there would be a spring or holy well (a chibbyr) nearby.
Viking influences.
During the 10th century, Viking raiders settled the island, introducing pagan beliefs and laws. Within a hundred years, however, the settlers adopted Christianity, combining their own mythology and iconography with those of the Christian population, and the keeills reverted to their original use. As a result keeill sites are often very complex – as well as both Christian and pagan burials, including Bronze-Age barrow mounds, they can include an enclosure around the structure itself, various phases of construction from different periods and even Viking ship burials.
At least 174 keeills have been recorded, and it is thought that more than 200 were once scattered across the Isle of Man. Most of these have been lost, often as a result of subsequent rebuilding – many medieval churches, such as Kirk Maughold and Kirk Christ Malew, were built on what were originally the sites of keeills.
Reckless excavation.
Only 35 keeills can be readily identified today, and virtually all of these were rather recklessly excavated (by modern standards at any rate) by Victorian and Edwardian antiquarians. Little of archaeological value has survived, although we do know that while the layout of different keeills was broadly similar, their size varied considerably.
Carl J S Markstander, a Norwegian professor who carried out what remains the most extensive survey of keeills on the Isle of Man in the 1930s, described this variation: 'The Ballachrink keeill in Marown measures only 10 feet × 6 feet inside. Otherwise they may attain 23 feet × 13 feet (Keeill Vian, Lonan), even 57 feet × 18 feet (St Patrick's Chapel, Patrick's Isle), and 75 feet × 24 feet (St. Trinian's, Marown). The walls vary in thickness from 2 feet 4 inches to 4 feet 8 inches and are, on the outside, protected by an embankment of earth and stones, in height 2-5 feet, in depth 4-10 feet.'
Professor Markstander continued: 'The shape is rectangular with no division between nave and chancel. The door, which is narrow and tapering towards the top, is usually situated in the western gable. The window – as a rule only one – is built at a height of 2-3 feet above the floor. The altar is invariably placed against the eastern wall, attaining a height of about 2 feet.'
The keeill excavated by Time Team fitted into this general pattern. It, too, was found to have the kind of walls described by Professor Markstander; the same rectangular shape and no identifiable internal divisions; a single narrow entrance; and evidence of an altar against the eastern wall.
One of the trenches dug by Time Team yielded a piece of stone that was to make the archaeologists' eyes water with excitement. It was found by regular digger Matt Williams in the topsoil next to a grave he was excavating, and was inscribed with fragments of Ogham script.
One of the earliest forms of writing found in the British Isles, Ogham is an Irish script that spread across the Irish Sea into Scotland, Wales and other areas including the Isle of Man. It was used on carved stones to record memorials of important events or references to important people. Most of the 'Ogham stones' that have survived to the present day are standing stones, or pillars, while this was a crudely scratched inscription on the flat surface of what appears to be a grave slab. It is very unusual to make this sort of find in association with a burial; indeed, this may well have been the first ever such find on the Isle of Man.
As for what the inscription refers to, we can only speculate. Ogham experts identified it as 11th-century Gaelic and translated references to 'corner', '50' and 'group', 'gang', 'throng' or possibly 'throng of warriors'. Anything more specific than that has to be left to the imagination.
Watched the programme, browsed the web pages? Now try our quick quiz to see how much you know about the Isle of Man.
Tradition says that St Patrick first brought the Christian message to the Isle of Man, landing at St Patrick's Isle. But which of his converts, formerly a prince, pirate and thief, is also credited with evangelising the island?
Manannan
Mantovani
Maughold
How was the Celtic god Manannan said to have kept strangers away from the Isle of Man?
By sinking their ships
By hiding it in mist
By sending them to sleep
What is the name of the Isle of Man's parliament, said to be the oldest continuous parliament in the world?
Tynwald
Tyngeld
Tynmoot
Why did the British government take control of the island in 1765?
To stop smuggling
To expel Irish rebels
To remove pirates
How much did the British pay the third Duke of Athol to give up the island?
£7,000
£70,000
£700,000
What is the present population of the Isle of Man?
7,000
70,000
700,000
Answers here.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
The ancient and historic monuments of the Isle of Man: A general guide including a selected list with notes (Manx Museum and National Trust, 5th edition 1981)
The Manx Archaeological Survey Sixth Report 1966: Keeills and burial grounds in the sheading of Rushen by J R Bruce (The Manx Museum and National Trust, 1968)
The Manx Archaeological Survey, a re-issue of the first five reports 1909-1935: Keeills and burial grounds in the sheadings of Glenfaba, Michael, Ayre, Garff and Middle by P M C Kermode (The Manx Museum and National Trust, 1968)
There are currently no publications in print dealing specifically with the keeills of the Isle of Man. The above three publications can still be obtained, however, from specialist booksellers or consulted via the Manx Museum.
Treens and keeills: English summary by Carl J S Markstander (Full report published in Norwegian in Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap Bind VIII, Oslo, 1937)
This English summary of Professor Markstander's survey of the keeills of the Isle of Man is available online.
Manx church origins by D S Dugdale (Llanerch Press, 1998) paperback £12
Places the origins of Manx churches, many of which originated as keeills, within a wider context, discussing Christianity in Roman Britain and affairs in Dublin as well as Celtic Maughold, Norse Maughold and parish churches and round towers.
Get this book
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Keeills of the Isle of Man
www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/
parishes/keeills/keeills.htm
Frances Coakley's voluminous Manx Notebook comprises more than 15,000 files, mostly out-of-copyright material reproduced from her extensive personal library. Her web pages on keeills include a good introductory page, an English summary of the classic 1937 paper on keeills by Norwegian professor Carl J S Markstander, a list with basic details of the 160 keeills surveyed by Professor Markstander, and a map showing their widespread distribution across the Isle of Man.
Manx National Heritage: the Story of Mann
www.gov.im/mnh/heritage/story/storyofmann.xml
The official website of the Manx National Heritage agency presents 'the Story of Mann' through the island's historic properties, ancient monuments, natural landscapes and formal museums. It includes a short section on keeills.
Ogham
www.omniglot.com/writing/ogham.htm
The Omniglot website on writing systems and languages of the world includes an introduction to the Ogham alphabet used on the inscribed stone found by Time Team. It includes basic information on the alphabet's origin, notable features and a table showing how each letter was written.
Everything Ogham on the web
www.evertype.com/standards/og/ogmharc.html
A comprehensive set of links to all manner of websites with information about the Ogham script.
Pagans
www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/P/pagans/index_t.html
Channel 4 website to accompany the series Pagans. Contains a range of information on paganism thorugh the ages, a timeline, a map of key pagan sites in the British Isles and north-west Europe and other resources.
Tradition says that St Patrick first brought the Christian message to the Isle of Man, landing at St Patrick's Isle. But which of his converts, formerly a prince, pirate and thief, is also credited with evangelising the island?
Maughold
How was the Celtic god Manannan said to have kept strangers away from the Isle of Man?
By hiding it in mist
What is the name of the Isle of Man's parliament, said to be the oldest continuous parliament in the world?
Tynwald
Why did the British government take control of the island in 1765?
To stop smuggling
How much did the British pay the third Duke of Athol to give up the island?
£70,000
What is the present population of the Isle of Man?
70,000