I would like to report on a series of events & archaeological discoveries which on my part commenced in September in the year 2022. In Scotland, it is said that there was a cardinal of ill repute who was assassinated in his bedchamber on the morning of Saturday the 24th May 1546 at St.Andrews Castle in Fife, Scotland.
His name (was Cardinal David Beaton) & incidentally, he was also Scotland’s last cardinal of the catholic faith due to the religious reformation taking Europe by storm. I also understand that there is some confusion (both locally & historically) as to the actual translation of his true name. Some records say his surname was Beaton, others say Beatoun & others say Bethune. At this point I’m thinking it was Bethune because of the inscription which started to appear on an object I found, but that object as well as the others still needs more examinations as to whether or not they do indeed pertain to the cardinal or people who knew him, or loyal relatives & followers who mourned his passing at a private re-burial. The condition of the objects has’nt helped throughout this entire case, but having been under the ground for 500 years in the harsh scottish soil & centuries of winters, I’m not suprised.
Personally, meddling with anybodies potential grave/tomb is not a practice accepted by many cultures around the world. Nor is it the norm anywhere else except for matters of the law & archaeological matters & on the latter thought, I’ve never seen an archaeological reason that justifies meddling with any historical tomb. There are other ways to get to the truth.
On my part, this all came about by accident; or was it.
For me, one of the biggest mysteries in all my foraging for the truth all these years, has to be the Cardinal mystery. My town is key to the truth of this. There is an energy here which has a way of affecting the local residents. It’s invisible, subtle & when it strikes, it can turn your whole world literally upside down.
Yet still the locals carry on as normal & why wouldn’t they. If we don’t know about things, then we can’t deal with them & when you’re in a village of lies, where secret handshakes at cafe corners are still privalent & money as always talks, don’t expect any allies in a hurry. Especially when the deceased medieval cardinal had powerful family connections which go all the way to the british monarchy themeselves. I suspect these guys are ashamed of being related to the cardinal back in the day & a bit of family name change went on around the period of the cardinal’s demise. Do I stand a chance in exposing the cardinals final resting place, should I be correct in my investigations. A slim chance. These guys own authority & to make matters worse, the grave is on a heritage site.
Which is a good way to make land designated, untouchable & additionally the ‘herutage site’ which bears no distinctively special reason for being a heritage site can also be protected by any story they like, so as to protect their interests & of course their wealth.
One of the keys to this case is myself because of renaissance Italy, but also the Vatican. When it comes to a cardinal, a prince of the church, these guys might come in handy in this case. For there is way too much skullduggery & secrets in the vanishing of the cardinal’s corpse after the followers of John Knox & friends desposed of the cardinal in the dungeon or (bottle-dungeon) of St Andrews Castle in 1546.
History states that the deceased cardinal was wrapped in lead, prior to being just left in the dungeon. A ghastly, make-shift lead coffin of sorts. He was then moved, over a year later to….where? Historians & academics enjoy convincing each other that he was probably buried in the grounds somewhere of what was once the mighty cathedral of St.Andrews. Others say he could under the floorboards of a local church. I’ve heard both these bed-time stories for what feels like decades now & of course there is no evidence, just academic assumption & hearsay. Well, on top of the myriad of countless objects uncovered at what I believe to be the cardinal’s final resting place, for sure, tbere is a menagerie of lead in various different states. Depending on soil conditions & numerous other factors, lead can surprising!y evolve into many different physical states over time. Which is curious too scientifically.
The Coat Of Arms of the Cardinal.
And an image below of one of the few remaining confirmed objects which was around when the cardinal were in life. It is one of eight wooden panels by an unknown carver. Note the curious scottish medieval art of the time, this bears striking similarities to patterned designs observed within some of the archaeological objects uncovered which are still under examination.
I will demonstrate images & possible explanations for the mysterious objects uncovered by myself & I will upload them here on this site one by one, pieve by piece.
If anybody knows anything, please come forward. If you have been led to this page by accident or because of your own interests in cardinal, do please come forward! I would love to hear from you ok.
Take care for now.
To be continued..
The Art Archaeologist 
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