A super-sized medieval burial ground was recently unearthed under the student residence of King’s College, Cambridge, and the excavated skeletons were so well preserved that archaeologists marveled at “the most amazing discovery in Anglo-Saxon archaeology since the 19th century.
The Guardian and King’s College Cambridge press release reported that the old King’s College student housing complex in Cambridge was demolished last summer, and the college will build a brand new dormitory at the same site and inaugurate it in 2022, but archaeologists recently unearthed a large medieval burial ground under the vacant lot. The site has been excavated by archaeologists since the 19th century.
In fact, since the 19th century, rumors of a medieval cemetery site nearby have been rampant, and the excavation of a large cemetery at King’s College confirms this rumor.
Archaeologists excavated more than 60 graves and about 200 objects, including bronze brooches, beadwork, swords, short knives, porcelain, and glass wine bottles.
The King’s College noted that the arrangement of the graves varies, but burials with artifacts such as these are typical of early Anglo-Saxon burials. Preliminary identification of these artifacts leads to the assumption that this large cemetery was used primarily during the 5th and 6th centuries CE, and even continued to be used into the 7th century.
Dr Caroline Goodson, who teaches early medieval history at King’s College, marveled at how well the excavated human remains were preserved, noting that the surrounding alkaline soil did not decompose the bones.
Archaeologists have determined that the actual extent of the cemetery may have been larger than the original site of the school’s dormitories.
The fact that a cemetery has been excavated in Cambridge is not new, as the University of Cambridge archaeology team has previously unearthed and studied three cemetery sites in the east, and King’s College emphasizes that the most significant feature of this new excavation is its extent and preservation, especially as few large cemetery sites have been excavated using modern techniques. These preserved graves and skeletal remains are expected to provide rich clues to the burial practices, social Culture, diet, DNA mysteries, and even genetics of the inhabitants of Cambridge, and the migration relationship with the European continent.
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