Archaeologists stunned to find 317 human skeletons buried in abandoned shopping mall
An abandoned department store that was due to be redeveloped turned out to be treasure trove of artifacts and human remains for archaeologists.
Gloucester in the United Kingdom, was established by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. Given the city has a long and storied history one could expect that when you turn over a rock, you’re bound to find something.
That’s exactly what happened when a team of archaeologists were called in to excavate under an abandoned department store in the city’s center prior to work beginning on its being remodeled. The site has become an “unbelievable” treasure trove of artifacts dating from the Romans through to the post-medieval period. Additionally, the archaeologists have unearthed the remains of over 300 individuals.
“It’s a massively important place”
Work on the site of an abandoned Debenhams department store has been ongoing since 2023. The University of Gloucester is planning to convert Kings Square location into a City Campus, scheduled to open in September.
However, being located within what is thought to have once been the northeast quadrant of an ancient Roman settlement they called on archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology to investigate. “Every time we work in Gloucester, we make new discoveries,” said Cliff Bateman, head of the project and 35-year veteran of Cotswold Archaeology, in a press release at the time. “It’s a massively important place.”
317 human skeletons unearthed along with numerous artifacts
During their work, which is now complete, they uncovered 83 brick burial vaults as well as other burials and a total of 317 skeletons. The brick vaults were within the 18th Century St Aldate’s Church that once stood on the location and its associated burial ground.
That structure, which was demolished in 1960, was pre-dated by a medieval church of the same name built before the Norman Conquest of 1066. It too was believed to have been demolished after sustaining damage in the English Civil War in the 17th century. The footprint of that building was not located by the archaeologists.
They did however find numerous objects including roman pottery, a tobacco pipe from the 16th century and pieces of a post-medieval wine bottle. In the basement of the Debenhams department store the archaeologists found Roman mosaics and cobblestones from what appears to be a road dating back to the 2nd Century AD.
16th century human remains showed signs of increased sugar consumption
“While our archaeological works are now complete on site, we will be undertaking scientific analysis of the finds and the human remains to learn more about the lives of those buried within the church yard,” Bateman said.
Of particular interest they will be looking at the impact of increased sugar consumption in the 16th century which was clearly visible in the teeth of the remains found. “The full results of these studies will be published in due course,” he added.
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