Friday, May 07, 2010

Medieval skeletons unearthed in Gloucester

The remains of two people were discovered by workers in Gloucester, England who were digging up a road near the city centre. Gloucestershire County Council's archaeology service has examined the bones, which were laid side by side in the ground, and initial investigations show they date from medieval times.

The remains of a coffin were also found at the site. The bones have now been taken away to osteoarchaeologists in York for further investigation.

Nigel Edgeworth, project manager said, "We were putting in the foundations for a wall when we came across the two skeletons. The minute we go below half a metre we have an archaeologist watching us. It is very exciting from a historical point of view, and adds more to the picture of Gloucester's history."

He added, "It's really exciting to find the skeletons. At first we thought they could be Roman because of the Roman wall which is believed to be around here. But now we believe that they were actually buried in a coffin, because we found the nails and other material so we think that they are probably medieval."

Paul Nichols, from archeology service, said it is possible that the skeletons could come from the time of St Kyneburgh. He said: "The site of St Kyneburgh is recorded as being at the site of the south gate but there are no exact records to say where it is because it was demolished. We're now going to send the bones to a specialist for further investigation."

Workers are now working on other areas of the project while the bones are recorded.

Source: Gloucestershire County Council