Palace Green Doubles as Mass Grave

A Nightmare Before Christmas.

In what can probably be described as the most interesting thing ever to have happened during the redevelopment of a library, Durham University archaeologists have unearthed a mass grave on Palace Green.

Human remains were first noted in early November but were initially understood to be an extension of the Cathedral’s medieval cemetery. However the discovery made today places the bodies much further to the north of the medieval graveyard.

A great deal of digging and brushing has revealed as many as 18 bodies lying packed and interwoven in the earth.

Richard Annis: bone-fide archaeologist.

Richard Annis, senior archaeologist with Durham University’s Archaeological Services, describes “clear evidence of a mass burial and not a normal group of graves.”

He went on to say “The bodies have been tipped into the earth without elaborate ceremony and they are tightly packed together and jumbled.”

However, Annis made clear that no final conclusions could be drawn at this early stage.

Moreover, the North-South alignment of some of the remains was found to be out of keeping with prevailing medieval burial conventions, which traditionally saw bodies laid on an East-West orientation.

Further research and bone-dating in the New Year will no doubt unearth the history of these human remains before another resting place is found for them.

Annis and the archaeologists love getting down and dirty.

Meanwhile the £10 million Palace Green Library redevelopment continues and will provide world-class exhibition and visitor facilities as part of a wider £30 million university-wide redevelopment spend. Let’s just hope it isn’t haunted.