HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that the foundations of the original A.D. 1077 apse were uncovered at St. Albans Cathedral under just three feet of soil. “One of our major aims was to confirm its presence and confirm the abbey was one of the early Norman cathedrals,” said Ross Lane, director of the excavation for the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. The excavation also uncovered approximately 20 graves dating to the eleventh and twelfth centuries. “They are clustered close to the walls in tile-lined tombs,” Lane said. The people in the graves are thought to have either lived in the abbey or been its benefactors in order to have received such honored burial spots. A new visitor center will be built on the site. To read about graffiti in medieval English churches, go to “Letter From England: Writing on the Church Wall.”
1,000-Year-Old Cathedral Foundations Uncovered in England
News March 19, 2018
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2019
Bath Tiles
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2024
Seahenge Sings
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2024
Location is Everything
-
Features January/February 2018
Where the Ice Age Caribou Ranged
Searching for prehistoric hunting grounds in an unlikely place
(Paul Nicklen/National Geographic Creative) -
Letter From Albania January/February 2018
A Road Trip Through Time
As a new pipeline cuts its way through the Balkans, archaeologists in Albania are grabbing every opportunity to expose the country’s history—from the Neolithic to the present
(TAP/G. Shkullaku) -
Artifacts January/February 2018
Roman Dog Statue
(Eve Andreski/Courtesy Gloucester County Council) -
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2018
The Secrets of Sabotage
(Bjørn Harry Schønhaug)