The remains appear to belong mostly to men from the 11th or early 12th centuries but also include the remains of a 3 year-old child.

“What the child is doing there is one of the many unanswered questions,” abbey archaeologist Warwick Rodwell said, “but it is a feature of many ecclesiastical sites that you find the remains of women and children in places where you might not quite expect them.”

One skeleton was buried in a Barnak stone coffin suggesting the individual was of high status. Some of the remains exhibit square holes in the skulls from pick axes due to earlier relocation of their remains during the 13th century.

The remains were discovered by the archaeologists after a 1950s lavatory block on the site was demolished.

 

Feature image: “Westminster-Abbey” by Σπάρτακος – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons