The macabre discovery of a 500-year-old partition was uncovered at Saint-Bavo in the Belgium city of Ghent. The wall was constructed of thigh and shin bones from adults, with skulls filling in the structure’s spaces.
Archeologists believe the bones were removed from the graveyard outside the church to make room for new graves.
This is a phenomenon we’ve not yet come across here
Janiek De Gryse, site’s project leader
Experts also believe skeletal remains could not be thrown away, meaning they were re-purposed as material for the church’s wall.
Although the cathedral was constructed in the 17th century, archaeologists believe the bones were already 200 years old when they were used as construction materials.
Janiek De Gryse, project leader told Brussels Times: “This is a phenomenon we’ve not yet come across here.
“When clearing a churchyard, the skeletons cannot just be thrown away.
“Given that the faithful believed in a resurrection of the body, the bones were considered the most important part.
“That is why stone houses were sometimes built against the walls of city graveyards: to house skulls and the long bones in what is called an ossuary.”
The Cathedral Saint-Bavo was constructed on the site of the former Chapel of Saint John the Baptist built in 942 and construction of the Gothic church began in 1274.
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The disturbing Saint-Bavo wall draws comparison to one of the largest and best-preserved collections of ancient human bones and skulls in Britain, found in a small church in St Leonard’s Church, Kent.
This collection features more than 1,000 skulls on the shelves found in four arched bays, with one single stack of bones more than 1.8m (6ft) tall.
Photographer Darragh Field, who visited has visited the collection, said: “It’s the best collection of ancient bones and skulls in the country and one of only two ossuaries in the UK, so I had to go and see for myself.
“The bones were thought to be remnants of those who fell in the battle of Hastings, but it turns out they were local residents from the 13th to 15th century.
“The remains are mostly female with only a few skulls showing signs of trauma from blows.”
Although it is impossible to estimate the number of bones in the collection, recent work has guessed that the total of individuals represented in the stack is approximately 2,000.
Several of the skulls suggest breakages and injury, while others indicate evidence of disease from poor diet and infection.
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