PhD student at University of Bristol; RHS Marshall Fellow (2024-25) at Institute of Historical Research; 11th-century Normandy, maritime and riverine environments, the Norman invasion fleet.
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/rebecca-tyson
Rebecca Tyson
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In the region of the UK where I live rivers dominate travel and the tidal range is the 2nd largest in the world. There's been a bridge in this location, where the tidal range can be over 14m between low and high tide, since at least the early 13th century when 75 oaks were granted for its repair 4/
Rebecca Tyson
🚨 Fewer than 20 tickets left for my talk on the Bayeux Tapestry in @magdalenoxford.bsky.social's magnificent Grove Auditorium next Wednesday (17 June), so get your's while you can: www.magd.ox.ac.uk/events/food-.... When they're gone, they're gone! Attendance is FREE, but registration is required 🚨
Today there are two bridges which span the lower reaches of the River Severn: The Severn Bridge was built in 1966 and is over 1.5 miles long. The Second Severn Crossing was opened 30 years later and is over 3 miles long. This is what those bridges look like from underneath. 8/
I'm writing a conference paper and contemplating how medieval people thought about crossing bodies of water. There's a long history of the idea of a bridge to Ireland: William Rufus stated that he would make a bridge with his ships, and Boris Johnson revived the Irish Sea Bridge idea in 2020. 1/
However, these grand schemes, medieval and modern, and including the Channel Tunnel, which was successfully opened in 1994, represent the desire to facilitate transmarine connections which have been taking place for thousands of years. 3/
Johnson had similarly proposed a bridge across the English Channel a couple of years previously. In both cases, someone explained (presumably using crayons) why such structures were incredibly complex and expensive, and the projects were quickly dropped. 2/
I find bridges fascinating, technically impressive, and often rather beautiful. Here is a post from when I sailed under at least 38 (I lost count) bridges in Paris last year: bsky.app/profile/tygu... /end
In the River Severn, the problem of how to cross this large and tidally dynamic space has resulted in a long history of different crossing types, including ferries which were the main way to cross right up until 1966. 6/
Rebecca Tyson
The Aust car ferry, which was the descendant of the ferries which are recorded in this area from the Roman period onwards, was made famous at the very end of its operation by the image of Bob Dylan waiting at the terminal. 7/
Prior to the medieval bridge, a Roman bridge was built further up the river, and in 2023 I was part of the team of archaeologists that rediscovered its exact location at a very low tide and took two timber samples for dating. The results were that the structure was built in the first century AD. 5/
Rebecca Tyson
Rebecca Tyson
Rebecca Tyson
Prof Ben Pohl
Rebecca Tyson
Rebecca Tyson
Rebecca Tyson
Rebecca Tyson
You are invited to a talk with Professor Benjamin Pohl, current Visiting Fellow at Magdalen, and Professor of Medieval History at the University of Bristol. The talk will take place from 5pm-6pm in th...
