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American Military News
23-04-2025
- General
- American Military News
Remnants of medieval church — and hundreds of bodies — found at UK university
Excavations in the courtyard of the University of Gloucestershire's City Campus have revealed new details about the history of a medieval church that once stood in its place — and the people buried there. The university purchased a department store in downtown Gloucestershire in 2021 with a goal of transforming it into a campus building with shared facilities for the city. As part of the construction project, archaeologists uncovered a section of an 18th-century church in 2023, according to the university. The church was built around 1750 to replace a medieval church. Now, archaeologists are learning more about the history of the church as they continue to excavate the site. The size and form of the medieval church were unknown until archaeologists began working on the project, according to an April 11 news release from the University of Gloucestershire. 'The medieval church was demolished in the mid-1650s, with documentary sources indicating that much of its stonework was utilized to repair other parish churches in the town, such as those sustaining damage during the English Civil War,' principal manager at Cotswold Archaeology, Steve Sheldon, said in the release. 'A new parish church, on or near the site of the medieval precursor, was constructed in the mid-18th century. The latter survived until the early 1960s when it was demolished to make way for the department store,' he continued. Along with limestone and brick foundations, archaeologists found 83 'brick-lined burial vaults' from within the church and 'in the associated burial ground', according to the release. These vaults were cleared before the construction of the department store, archaeologists said. However, outside the vaults, archaeologists uncovered about 150 post-medieval burials in the courtyard, and another 170 burials from an earlier period were found even deeper, according to the release. Most of the earlier burials are 'provisionally thought to relate to the medieval church,' the university said. More than 300 skeletons were recorded and excavated and will be studied in order to 'learn more about the lives of those buried within the church yard,' the university said. 'As this was an urban church, the story it will tell about the health of Gloucester's population over a period of around 1,000 years will be most interesting,' senior project officer at Cotswold Archaeology, Cliff Bateman, said. 'For example, on a very basic level, the impact of increased sugar in the diet during the 16th century was visibly clear in terms of dental health. The full results of these studies will be published in due course.' Aside from the human remains, remains of the church itself were also identified. Architectural pieces from the centuries-old churches will be displayed in the new campus building. University of Gloucestershire 'Although the footprint of the medieval church was not identified during the current archaeological works, the identification of a limestone wall with surviving lime plaster most probably represents part of the earlier church,' Sheldon said. 'If so, it is now evident that the floor plans of the two churches were not coincident, with the medieval church being constructed much further to the south, away from the St Aldate Street frontage.' 'In addition to the limestone wall, a number of worked stone objects were recovered, including part of a mid-14th-century window arch with some internal tracery, associated with the medieval church,' he said. The architectural features found at the site will eventually be displayed on the campus for students, staff and visitors, the university said. Gloucestershire is in western England, about a 100-mile drive northwest from London. ___ © 2025 the Merced Sun-Star Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Miami Herald
22-04-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Remnants of medieval church — and hundreds of bodies — found at UK university
Excavations in the courtyard of the University of Gloucestershire's City Campus have revealed new details about the history of a medieval church that once stood in its place — and the people buried there. The university purchased a department store in downtown Gloucestershire in 2021 with a goal of transforming it into a campus building with shared facilities for the city. As part of the construction project, archaeologists uncovered a section of an 18th-century church in 2023, according to the university. The church was built around 1750 to replace a medieval church. Now, archaeologists are learning more about the history of the church as they continue to excavate the site. The size and form of the medieval church were unknown until archaeologists began working on the project, according to an April 11 news release from the University of Gloucestershire. 'The medieval church was demolished in the mid-1650s, with documentary sources indicating that much of its stonework was utilized to repair other parish churches in the town, such as those sustaining damage during the English Civil War,' principal manager at Cotswold Archaeology, Steve Sheldon, said in the release. 'A new parish church, on or near the site of the medieval precursor, was constructed in the mid-18th century. The latter survived until the early 1960s when it was demolished to make way for the department store,' he continued. Along with limestone and brick foundations, archaeologists found 83 'brick-lined burial vaults' from within the church and 'in the associated burial ground', according to the release. These vaults were cleared before the construction of the department store, archaeologists said. However, outside the vaults, archaeologists uncovered about 150 post-medieval burials in the courtyard, and another 170 burials from an earlier period were found even deeper, according to the release. Most of the earlier burials are 'provisionally thought to relate to the medieval church,' the university said. More than 300 skeletons were recorded and excavated and will be studied in order to 'learn more about the lives of those buried within the church yard,' the university said. 'As this was an urban church, the story it will tell about the health of Gloucester's population over a period of around 1,000 years will be most interesting,' senior project officer at Cotswold Archaeology, Cliff Bateman, said. 'For example, on a very basic level, the impact of increased sugar in the diet during the 16th century was visibly clear in terms of dental health. The full results of these studies will be published in due course.' Aside from the human remains, remains of the church itself were also identified. 'Although the footprint of the medieval church was not identified during the current archaeological works, the identification of a limestone wall with surviving lime plaster most probably represents part of the earlier church,' Sheldon said. 'If so, it is now evident that the floor plans of the two churches were not coincident, with the medieval church being constructed much further to the south, away from the St Aldate Street frontage.' 'In addition to the limestone wall, a number of worked stone objects were recovered, including part of a mid-14th-century window arch with some internal tracery, associated with the medieval church,' he said. The architectural features found at the site will eventually be displayed on the campus for students, staff and visitors, the university said. Gloucestershire is in western England, about a 100-mile drive northwest from London.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Found 317 Skeletons Buried Under a Department Store
317 medieval and post-medieval skeletons were discovered at the site of a department store that is being remodeled into a university campus. This was hardly surprising, since even more skeletons—these others from the Roman and medieval periods—have surfaced since renovation efforts began in 2023. Artifacts (though, not any skeletons) will be put on display once the new campus opens. Most of us have skeletons in our closets, but they can also lurk in much less familiar places. Literally. Hundreds of skeletons were recently unearthed at the site of an abandoned Debenhams department store in the UK. The remains of 317 individuals from medieval and post-medieval burial grounds were discovered by archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology in Kings Square, Gloucester, as the site was being redeveloped into the University of Gloucester's City Campus. The university actually commissioned Cotswold Archaeology to excavate at the site because artifacts have continued to crop up in the area. 'Every time we work in Gloucester, we make new discoveries,' Cliff Bateman, Cotswold Archaeology Senior Project Officer, said in a press release. 'It's a massively important place.' Among the skeletons were artifacts such as a tobacco pipe and fragments of a wine bottle. Many earlier artifacts from the Roman period also surfaced, which makes sense, considering that what is now King's Square is thought to have once been the northeast quadrant of an ancient Roman town. Since the project began in 2023, archaeologists have found many vestiges of the Roman period, including pottery, 83 brick burial vaults (which were cleared in the mid-1950s), the foundations of a wall from a townhouse, and what appears to be a road dating back to the 2nd Century A.D. Other recent finds include brick burial vaults and a crypt from St. Aldate's Church—the external wall and porch of which appeared when remodeling efforts started. It was built in 1750 to replace a church of the same name, whose origins traced back to before the Norman Conquest in 1066 (it was meant to honor a fallen bishop of Gloucester, who died in battle in 577). That church ended up so damaged from the English Civil War that it was finally torn down in the mid-1700s. The later St. Aldate's stood until 1960, but has long since been demolished. Evidence of its medieval predecessor has not yet appeared, but is thought to be in the area. Burials associated with the vanished medieval church were also found when the site was first being remodeled. The bones of twelve individuals were only exhumed for research before being reinterred in their original graves. Bateman also said that he is just about positive 'there will be Roman buildings in situ' beneath the post-medieval necropolis. This isn't surprising to archaeologists, who first started finding mosaics and ruins of Roman buildings in the basement of the empty Debenham's. Preliminary studies on the teeth of skeletons have found that the people they came from likely consumed a diet high in sugar. While there is little else known about the remains—except that about half of them were not in burial vaults like some of the other skeletons found nearby—Gloucester is apparently one of those places where pieces of the ancient past are literally inches beneath your feet. Excavations in another part of the city previously revealed even more skeletons, this time from the Late Roman period, which were buried both on their backs and facedown. Some of them were even decapitated, then laid to rest with their heads between their feet. While human remains will not be on display at the university, the Roman, medieval, and post-medieval artifacts found at the site will eventually have their own shrine. 'These objects have been retained on site, following archaeological recording, and will be displayed on site for students, staff and visitors to City Campus to appreciate once the site is fully operational,' Steve Sheldon, Acting Principal Manager of Cotswold Archaeology, said in a more recent press release. The campus in progress will be opening in September. There could be no more epic way to kick off an ancient history class. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
