Aerial view of cropmarks showing buildings and enclosures at Maelmin, near Milfield. Photo © Tim Gates.

(NT 941339) Melmin. [N.R.] (1)

Aerial photograph markings show a long range, apparently of timber buildings, reconstructed more than once. The principal building, orientated to the east, is rectangular in plan, perhaps 30ft long, with buttresses, and extensions, at one, or both ends. There is a small detached building a little to the east, on the same axis, and both structures are surrounded by a roughly rectangular enclosure. The orientation, and the position within a known area of Dark Age occupation, raises the question whether this is an early Christian church, or a Dark Age Hall. (2)

Northumbrian royal seat at Milfield (Melmin). (3)

There are no apparent remains. The site falls in a flat arable field currently under the plough. (4)

A plan of the Anglo-Saxon Royal seat (Maelmin) at Milfield has been reconstructed from cropmarks on air photographs. Scheduled. (5)

An evaluation was carried out in December 1998 by The Archaeological Practice ahead of a scheme to build a reconstruction henge monument. This comprised of four trenches within the west side of the Kimmerston Road End field, which was the area of proposed development for a car park, football ground and archaeological interpretation facility. Trenches 2 and 4 contained no deposits whilst trench 3 contained Enclosure boundaries (c.1790s). Trench 1 (NGR 9399 3367) meanwhile contained a post hole structure that is thought to be the remains of a small building belonging to "Melmin". (6)

The evaluation revealed a series of postholes for a wooden building which is thought likely to be contemporary with the Maelmin settlement. The building lies outside the great enclosure indicating that it probably had extramural settlement.
A magnetometry survey by TimeScape Archaeological Surveys revealed a number of anomalies including ditches and possible pits.
An area 38m square was excavated ahead of the henge reconstruction. This revealed a series of steep-sided postholes set in a straight line across the site. They are widely spaced and lie roughly parallel with traces of ridge and furrow cultivation visible in the trench and are thought to represent a field boundary.The postholes contained evidence for the cultivation of bread wheat, barley and oats. Radiocarbon dating of a bread wheat sample gave an early medieval date (2 sigma calibrated date Cal AD 705 to 885, Beta-139716 1220+/-30BP). (7)(8)(9)

The Anglo-Saxon palace at Milfield was discovered by aerial photography in 1948. As presently know, the site covers an area of more than 12ha and extends over four cultivated fields (OS land parcels 2300, 4778, 0002, & 0075 on the published 1:2,500 scale map) as well as the N end of the disused aerodrome to the S (parcel 0062). In 1988 a plan of the site was published, based on an analysis of several hundred air photographs. (10)

The main elements of the palace complex are as follows:
(A) Centred at NT 9414 3390 is a sub-rectangular palisaded enclosure which measures 140m E-W by 45m N-S. The enclosure is sub-divided into three units and contains a centrally placed suite of timber halls which clearly belong to more than one phase of construction. These include at least two buildings with external buttresses comparable to those excavated at Yeavering. Outside the enclosure to the S, at NT 9411 3380 is another hall.
(B) Centred at NT 9447 3377 is an oval enclosure defined by lines of palisade. The exact form of the enclosure is difficult to determine, not least because erosion has destroyed sections of the perimeter, especially on the NE side where the ground falls away towards the river Till. So far as can be determined, the palisaded enclosure measures 110m NW-SE by 70m NE-SW with an internal area of 0.55ha. It is clear that at some stage this enclosure was incorporated into the defensive circuit (C) surrounding the central palace complex (A).
(C) The central palace complex (A) is enclosed within a massive palisade which contains an area of some 12ha. Although some parts of the perimeter have been lost to erosion, especially on the NE side where the gravel terrace has been eroded by river action, in its original form it cannot have been less than 1.3kms in length. In its most developed form this defensive circuit consisted of two lines of timbers set 5m apart with an entrance or gateway in the NW corner at NT 9402 3395. The perimeter is clearly of more than one phase and at some stage has been enlarged to include the oval enclosure (B). (11)

Air photographs (12a-b)

NT 937339 Ancient site, east of village. Scheduled. (12c)

NT 937 339. Site E of Milfield village. Scheduled. (12d)

General association with HER 2039 and is referred to by HER 2040. (12)