Excavation of 400 intact medieval skeletons underground

Archaeologists unearth the burial site of a hospital below the University of Cambridge, England, which has more than 400 complete skeletons.

Excavation of 400 intact bones

During the period of 2010-2012, scientists excavated 400 completed bones and an estimated 1,300 people were buried here . The burial site is located under Old Divinity College, at St John's College, which can be built around the 13th century and these skeletons date from the 13-15 century.

Intact medieval skeletons underground.(Photo: Cambridge University)

Here, the team discovered 6 "generations of cemeteries " , the period of filling the burial holes before burying other bodies in the same place. They said most graves do not have coffins, which indicates that the cemetery is the resting place of the poor . Jewelry and personal belongings are only available in some graves.

Craig Cessford, an expert at the School of Archeology and Anthropology, said that this is one of the largest medieval hospital archaeological sites in the British Isles . "Evidence of burial clothes and objects is often more rare in the hospital cemetery, mainly because this is a place where there is absolutely no pastor," IBTimes said yesterday to Cessford.

Cessford's group did not find evidence of the Black Death pandemic and found that the person buried here had no signs of serious disease.

Archaeologists have begun studying this place since 2010. (Photo: Cambridge University)