Graves of Marginalized People Discovered at Tintern Abbey, UK

MONMOUTHSHIRE, WALES — A recent excavation conducted by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh government, has shed light on unusual burials at Tintern Abbey. The findings suggest that after the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII, local people were laid to rest on the grounds of the abbey. The excavation, undertaken at the beginning of a conservation project to protect the church’s deteriorating stone walls, uncovered a total of 18 graves. Two of these graves, both situated just outside the main body of the church, held the remains of a woman and two children. The woman, believed to have been disabled, was buried in a shallow grave, possibly in secrecy, while the children, aged approximately one and five, were interred together. Their skeletal remains displayed indications of stress, possibly due to malnutrition or disease. Gwilym Hughes of Cadw stated, Tintern was the resting place of the great and the good in the medieval period…This appears to have changed dramatically…this time not by the elite, but by people who appear to have been marginalized by society. Alongside the graves, archaeological artifacts such as medieval window glass, floor tiles, pottery, and coins were also uncovered during the excavation.