Belief in the North East (BitNE) enables local volunteers to work with Durham University professional archaeologists to study aspects of the fascinating archaeology of religion throughout the region. This website presents information about local religion through the ages, along with reports on BitNE projects. 

In addition to this website, there is also a BitNE YouTube channel featuring many online presentations and other videos.

Membership of the group is open to all.

Millennia of belief

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Mesolithic

10,000 – 4,000BC

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Neolithic – Early Bronze Age

c.4000 – 1500 BC

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Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age

800BC – c.70AD

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Roman

c70–410AD

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Early Medieval

AD410-1066

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Medieval

1066-1530

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Post-medieval and modern

AD1530-1900

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More than 1,200 local people signed up as project volunteers!

We work with local people of all ages to explore the fascinating archaeology of ritual and religion throughout North-East England. Studying subjects ranging from prehistoric rock art and burial mounds, through Roman temples, to historic churches and graveyards, we hope to shed new light on the complex religious beliefs of past populations of Teesside, County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland.

Membership of the group is open to all.

Active projects

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Frosterley marble altar dating from about 1900, All Saints Church, Helmsley (North Yorkshire).

Frosterley Marble

Medieval

Exploring the use of Frosterley Marble in churches and other buildings in North-East England and beyond.

Allendale Henge

Neolithic – Early Bronze Age

In 2015, during a Lidar Landscapes survey of the Allen Valleys undertaken as part of the Altogether Archaeology project, a very curious earthwork was recorded just west of Allendale Town.

Stone Crosses

Medieval

Stone crosses once formed an important part of the religious landscape of NE England. They could be found in market squares and churchyard, as well as marking paths and routeways, often in remote locations.

Church graffiti

Medieval

As well as being the sites of formal monuments and memorials, the extent of informal writing, carving and drawing in the form of graffiti surviving in our parish churches is becoming increasingly apparent.

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The BitNE Exhibition!