Skulls Stored In Medieval Crypt Examined

News June 11, 2019

(Rothwell Charnel Chapel Project)
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English Chapel Skulls
(Rothwell Charnel Chapel Project)

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, ENGLAND—According to a BBC News report, archaeologists have investigated five skulls out of the remains of some 2,500 people held in a thirteenth-century crypt under the aisle of Holy Trinity Church, in England’s East Midlands. Lizzy Craig-Atkins of the University of Sheffield said one of the skulls was fractured, likely by an act of violence. The bones in the crypt date from 1250 to 1900, and may have been exhumed and moved to the crypt after the graveyard became too full, Craig-Atkins explained. For more on England in the Middle Ages, go to “Letter from England: Writing on the Church Wall.”

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