GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND—A seventeenth-century family burial vault was discovered under the floor of Gloucester Cathedral’s north transept when archaeologists lifted a nearby ledger stone in preparation for the installation of an elevator. The vault contains the remains of the wealthy Hyett family, including an infant, who had been buried in well-preserved coffins. “What you normally find when you dig up a ledger slab is earth and bones, there’s nothing specific in there,” cathedral archaeologist Richard Morriss explained in a press release. But a small hole was created when the ledger stone was lifted, and archaeologists could see the contents of the vault. “And the name plates [on the coffins] actually match up with the names on the ledgers above, which is remarkable,” Morriss added. To read about archaeological evidence for Christian worship in medieval England, go to “Writing on the Church Wall.”
