Unusual burial discovered in Leith

More than 350 skeletons were recovered during recent excavation in Leith.
CREDIT: City of Edinburgh Council

A recent excavation along Constitution Street in Leith, in advance of an extension to the Edinburgh tram line to Newhaven, has uncovered hundreds of human remains from a late medieval cemetery and, underneath it, a mysterious standalone burial.

The cemetery was first discovered back in 2008, during the initial construction of this section of the tram line, which was subsequently cancelled later that year. It came as a complete surprise to archaeologists, as previously no burials had been recorded under Constitution Street since its construction in 1790. Although the street was built through church property, the Leith Kirk session regarded the land as out of use and not part of the graveyard associated with the nearby St Mary’s.

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A stained glass graphic novel about medieval belief and the cult of Thomas Becket

Miracle window, Canterbury Cathedral, early 1200s. The first story in these panels concerns a man with leprosy called Ralph de Longeville. © The Chapter, Canterbury Cathedral.

From castration to leprosy, the Thomas Becket window going on show at the British Museum is like a medieval graphic novel

The British Museum’s long-awaited and much-delayed Thomas Becket exhibition promises a deep delve into the medieval world via a dizzying array of medieval objects, ranging from reliquaries and reliefs to illuminated manuscripts and ampullae.

But it is the extraordinary display of an entire medieval stained-glass window from Canterbury Cathedral that will provide the spectacular centerpiece of the exhibition, which marks 850 years since the former Archbishop of Canterbury was killed.

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Metal detectorist finds £2million centrepiece jewel of Henry VIII's lost crown buried under a tree after it had been missing for 400 years

A metal detectorist has found the centrepiece jewel of Henry VIII's lost crown buried under a tree 400 years after it went missing. 

Kevin Duckett, 49, made the startling discovery while walking through a field near Market Harborough in Northamptonshire. 

The two-and-a-half inch jewel, which could be worth up to £2million, is now at the British Museum.

Mr Duckett said he first thought the jewel was some crumpled tin foil from the wrapping of a Mr Kipling cake. 

He told The Sun: 'It was lodged in the side of a hole just a few inches down. I carefully removed it and knew by its colour and weight that it was solid gold.'  

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Murder in the Middle Ages: British Museum to tell story of Thomas Becket

Reliquary casket showing the murder of Thomas Becket.
Photograph: Richard Davis/Victoria and Albert Museum, London 

London exhibition marks 850th anniversary of archbishop’s murder in crypt of Canterbury Cathedral

One of the most shocking chapters of medieval history, embracing royalty, power, sacrilege and bloodshed, is to be told through the UK’s first major exhibition on the life, death and legacy of Thomas Becket, opening at the British Museum this spring.

Its centrepiece is a stained glass window from Canterbury Cathedral, the scene of the priest’s brutal murder by four knights loyal to King Henry II in 1170. The 6-metre-high window, originally one of 12 ”miracle” windows created in the early 1200s, has never before left the cathedral nor been seen at eye level by the public.

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Archaeologists on HS2 line uncover grounds of perfectly preserved 16th-century manor gardens

The ornamental garden was completely unknown until excavators recently uncovered its 300-metre foundations. (SWNS)

One of the best-preserved gardens ever discovered in Britain has been uncovered by archaeologists working on the HS2 train line.

Historians have been left stunned by the ancient discovery near Coleshill, on the outskirts of Birmingham, which has been dubbed "Warwickshire's answer to Hampton Court".

The ornamental garden does not appear in any historical records and was completely unknown until excavators recently uncovered the 656ft foundations.

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Medieval Cambridge skeletons reveal injuries to manual labourers

The skeletal remains found at three cemeteries were X-rayed to determine injuries

NICK SAFFELL/UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE/PA WIRE

X-rays of more than 300 graveyard skeletons have revealed the high levels of injuries suffered by medieval manual labourers.

Skeletons from three local graveyards were studied by archaeologists from Cambridge University.

They found 44% of working people in a parish cemetery had bone fractures, compared to 32% in a wealthier one, and 27% in a cemetery for the infirm.

The study had "helped gauge the hazards of daily life", the team said.

The burial sites were within what is now the historic city centre, and the 314 skeletons were at least 25% complete.

They dated from the 10th to 14th Centuries when Cambridge was primarily a provincial town of artisans, merchants and farmhands, with scholars arriving in 1209.

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Friar crushed by cart: bone analysis hints at causes of medieval deaths

The remains of an individual buried in an Augustinian friary in Cambridge.
The study found a surprising absence of weapon-related injuries.
Photograph: Nick Saffell/University of Cambridge/PA 

A friar crushed by a cart, another the victim of an attack by bandits: it sounds like the plot of a medieval mystery. But according to new research these are some of the possible misfortunes to have befallen those in centuries gone by.

An analysis of bones from 314 individuals aged 12 or older, dating from around 1100 to the 1530s, and found in three different sites across Cambridge, reveals that bone fractures were common among those buried in a parish cemetery – where many ordinary workers would have been laid to rest. But the team also found evidence of horrific injuries among those buried in an Augustinian friary, suggesting the clergy were not protected against violent events.

“Medieval life was difficult for everyone,” said Dr Jenna Dittmar, study lead author from the University of Cambridge.

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Jahrhundertdürre im Mittelalter – mit Parallelen zum Klimawandel heute?

Leipziger Forschende identifizieren aus historischen Quellen bisher unbekannte Dürreperiode

Der Übergang von der mittelalterlichen Warmzeit zur Kleinen Eiszeit wurde offenbar von starken Dürren zwischen 1302 und 1307 in Europa begleitet, die der feucht-kalten Phase der 1310er Jahre und der damit verbundenen großen Hungersnot von 1315-21 vorausgingen. Die Wetterlagen 1302-07 seien vergleichbar mit der Wetteranomalie 2018, als in Kontinentaleuropa eine außergewöhnliche Hitze und Dürre herrschte, schreiben die Forschenden der Leibniz-Institute für Geschichte und Kultur des östlichen Europa (GWZO) und für Troposphärenforschung (TROPOS) im Fachjournal Climate of the Past.

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