The Govan Hogbacks: Amuse-bouche

As the 2026 season in Govan Old's 1,500-year-old churchyard continues, our own Dr Tom Horne tells you everything you need to know about the archaeology going on in the graveyard around Govan Old church, home of the world-famous early medieval and Viking-Age carved stone collection known as the Govan Stones.

Have we just found the first sign of a monumental early medieval gateway guarding the grand Viking-Age processional way into Govan Old? Seemingly constructed at the time the Govan Stones were being carved at the Christian heart of the the Strathclyde Britons' kingdom, this season's find of a massive posthole with impressively large, and extremely intriguing, packing stones 1 metre to the north of the roadway discovered as part of the 1996/7 Time Team episode is of enormous significance.Listen to Govan Early Medieval's Annemarie⁩ Franz chat to Professor Steve Driscoll of University of Glasgow Archaeology to find out the latest on this amazing find and what it means for our understanding of Govan Old and Strathclyde in the years around AD 900.The 2025 dig was a University of Glasgow Archaeology Field School that was held in conjunction with Clyde Archaeology.The episode image is by Bex Simpson.

Join Alex and Tom as they talk about Strathclyde and the kingdoms of early medieval Britain! Alex Harvey is the early medievalist author of 'Forgotten Vikings: New Approaches to the Viking Age' and 'Riddles of the Isle: History of the Isle of Axholme from the Romans to the Normans'. His upcoming book, 'Little Kingdoms: An A-Z of Early Medieval Britain', will be released on the 30th of November, 2025.

In this episode, Tom, Annemarie, and Bex look forward to the 2025 season at the Govan Stones, Govan Old, and our 1,500-year-old churchyard!

In this episode, Dr Tom Horne delves into the fascinating history of why, how and when silver dirham coins from Central and Western Asia reached the Irish Sea Region of Britain and Ireland in the Viking Age, a journey of vast distances across Scandinavian-dominated trade networks.

For all Viking Great Army fans! This is Part 3, the final part of 'Jeux Sans Frontières: The Great Army's Great Game in Northern Britain' is taken from a talk Dr. Tom Horne gave to 'The Anglo-Scottish border and the Northern World from the Viking Age to 1500,' a study day organised by the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster University and the Scottish Society for Northern Studies at Tullie House in Carlisle.

For all Viking Great Army fans! Part 2 of 'Jeux Sans Frontières: The Great Army's Great Game in Northern Britain' is taken from a talk Dr. Tom Horne gave to 'The Anglo-Scottish border and the Northern World from the Viking Age to 1500,' a study day organised by the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster University and the Scottish Society for Northern Studies at Tullie House in Carlisle.

For all Viking Great Army fans! Part 1 of 'Jeux Sans Frontières: The Great Army's Great Game in Northern Britain' is taken from a talk Dr. Tom Horne gave to 'The Anglo-Scottish border and the Northern World from the Viking Age to 1500,' a study day organised by the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster University and the Scottish Society for Northern Studies at Tullie House in Carlisle.

Bex and Tom introduce you to the glorious Govan hogbacks, five enormous carved stone monuments, resembling something like a mix between an early medieval hall and a house shrine for relics, featuring fantastical Guardian beasts and stunning knotwork interlace created in the lost Viking-Age kingdom of the Strathclyde Britons.

Dr. Adrián Maldonado talks to Dr. Tom Horne about the fascinating parallels in early Christian art and cult practice between Iona and Govan Old. Don't miss a truly absorbing discussion about the carved stones of these enormously important Christian centres, and a particularly fascinating suggestion about what Govan's recumbent cross slabs grave markers might be telling us about the location of a saint's cult within the ancient churchyard! Dr. Maldonado is Galloway Hoard Researcher at National Museums Scotland.