Posted on 08/24/2020 7:13:08 PM PDT by marshmallow
Archaeologists have uncovered a lost 13th century sacristy at Westminster Abbey along with the bones of hundreds of monks from an earlier burial ground.
The team from Pre-Construct Archaeology had been doing work on the North Green of the abbey when they came across the Great Sacristy built by Henry III in the 1250s.
An integral part of Henry’s Abbey, the sacristy was the only section of the 13th-century reconstruction which had been lost. Originally used to keep the sacred vestments and items prior to Mass, it was later converted into living quarters before being demolished in the 18th century.
The famous gothic revival architect Sir George Gilbert Scott had begun to uncover and record the footprint of the sacristy in 1869 when he worked as the Abbey’s Surveyor of the Fabric.
Before the sacristy was built, the site was used as a burial ground for monks. The archaeologists have been carrying out the careful work of uncovering the graves of what they estimate to be “hundreds if not thousands” of bodies.
The team’s director Chris Mayo told the Guardian that “this will be the case right the way across the Abbey site. Ultimately the Abbey’s grounds once went much further still… this whole area was awash with burials.”
Amongst the most significant artefacts found during the dig was a stoup which the monks would have used to wash their hands as they entered the original church built by Edward the Confessor in 1065. Remarkably, the team found it had been reused two centuries later as a buttress in the L-shaped foundations of Henry III’s lavishly reconstructed abbey.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicherald.co.uk ...
Cool!
Wonder what will be done with the skeletal material...
Reason I ask...
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/vp-nw-not-lost-20200817-qgmblubzt5dyjm3jrcop25ssoq-story.html
...looks like the remains in the above case won’t be removed for further study.
That's exciting as thunder!
They usually reuse those for the cathedral's xylophone.
BBC4’s Time Team Archaeology show did 2 shows about Westminister Abbey, one was a ‘dig’ to locate the sacristy. Here are the links:
Time Team S17-E01 Westminster Abbey, Search for the Sacristy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVwNq8cUgEE
Time Team Special 44 2010 The Secrets of Westminster Abbey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uqw6c6L6GQ
The remains found on active church property during archaeological digs are generally re interred, though often in a new location on church/cemetery grounds.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
