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Photo Credit: University of Leicester Archaeological Services
It’s a beautifully romantic find that shows a couple holding hands for more than 700 years.
A team of archeologists from the University of Leicester recently made a discovery at the chapel of St Morrell in the small village of Hallaton, east of Leicestershire. The fourth year students not only uncovered the couple holding hands but the full chapel as well as the cemetery. The hillside chapel was unknown before research by a local historian suggested it might be there.
Photo Credit: University of Leicester Archaeological Services
The excavation has resulted in the find of silver pennies dating between the 12th and 16th centuries, which indicated when the chapel was in use. A total of 11 skeletons have been found so far and all oriented east-west in the Christian tradition and radiocarbon dating places them in the 14th century.
It is unknown why these people were buried at this place instead of in the main church in the nearby village but according to archaeologists it is possible that it was a special place of burial, perhaps reserved for pilgrims. Alternatively, they might have been refused burial in the main church, perhaps because they were criminals, foreigners or sick and diseased.
Photo Credit: University of Leicester Archaeological Services
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