THE first research based on objects recovered from the submerged riverbed positioned just downstream of the 12th Century Elvet Bridge in Durham, has now been published.

A 280-page colour hardback book, titled 'Textile Manufacture, Taxation and Trade in Late- and Post-Medieval Durham City' is in print as an Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland Research Report in association with the Durham City Freemen and with support from the Finds Research Group.

It represents a study of 334 lead cloth seals which date from the mid-14th to the early-19th Centuries.

These recently discovered objects, recovered by Durham-based underwater archaeologist Gary Bankhead, were once linked to the trade, industrial regulation, and taxation of commercially produced cloth.

Read more: Firefighter turned diver turned heritage expert: Gary Bankhead's remarkable story

They represent the largest assemblage of such material available for analysis outside of London and are of crucial significance for understanding the cloth trade during this period.

They connect the city to national and international trading networks and highlight previously overlooked aspects of its textile activities.

At the heart of the book is a detailed catalogue of the recovered lead cloth seals.

These small identifying lead markers were once attached to the edges of woven fabrics.

The Northern Echo: The front cover of Gary Bankhead's bookThe front cover of Gary Bankhead's book (Image: GARY BANKHEAD)

Speaking at the launch of his book in Durham’ Guildhall, Mr Bankhead said: “For me personally, this has been an incredible journey of adventure and discovery, and the publication of the book marks the end of just the first chapter of my story.

“It’s not every day that you get to contribute to our understanding of Durham City’s rich history and I’m really looking forward to researching the next group of objects recovered from the River Wear and future publications in this monograph series.”

The research generated by Mr Bankhead's study has shown not just the scale and extent of textile production in the city of Durham but has also revealed evidence of previously unknown English and European trade routes.

The lives, locations and shifting fortunes of those importing, producing, assessing and using textiles in Durham come into fresh focus.

Scientific analysis of the tiny fragments of cloth which had survived, caught between the closed seals and lost for centuries but preserved in their underwater environment, provides exact evidence about the nature of some of these fabrics.

Comprehensive scientific analysis of three such rare survivals provides invaluable information about the dyed woven wool fabrics which were being traded in the city, corroborating and supplementing data on Durham’s textile trade connections.

The Northern Echo: The books reveal much about the history of Durham CityThe books reveal much about the history of Durham City (Image: GARY BANKHEAD)

Mr Bankhead added: "The publication of the book has been a really humbling experience.

"The support I have received along the way has been incredible - it's as if everyone I know has been willing on my first academic publication to go to print.

"From my Durham University supervisors, staff at the Durham University Library and Collections and other institutions across Europe, historical textile specialists, archaeologists, and historians, and finally the Durham City Freemen, who contributed so generously towards the printing costs, I really am indebted to so many generous people."

* For further information about the book and details of how to order, see: diveintodurham.uk/publications.

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