A creepy wall made from human bones and skulls has been discovered under a cathedral in Ghent.
Researchers from Ruben Willaert BVBA made the eerie findings while exploring St Bavo’s Cathedral this month.
The wall was found to mainly consist of thigh and shin bones from adults, which the researchers believe date back to the late 15th century.
In a release about the findings, the researchers explained: “Since the assumption was a complete physical resurrection, the bones were the most important parts of the body. That is why its preservation was certainly in the Middle Ages very important.
“When clearing a graveyard, people could not just bones throw away. That is why bricks were sometimes used for city cemeteries houses that were built against the wall of the church.”
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In terms of the bone choice, the researchers added that long bones and skulls were likely chosen for ease.
They added: “When clearing graves, people often hurried and did not bother collect smaller or fragile bones such as vertebrae, ribs, bone from hand and foot. So a selection of skulls and long bones emerged.”
It doesn’t appear that bones from people of a certain age or gender were prioritised, according to the team.
They said: “The long bones and skulls from the Ghent bone structures seem at first sight to come from a normal graveyard population, in the sense that no selection is noticeable is based on gender or age in adults. It's about men and women from all ages.
“It is striking that hardly any bones were found from children and young people. This is not in line with the age expectation of centuries ago, but is typical for bones from cleared graves.
“Children's bones are small and fragile and therefore not collected in. Children's graves generally received less care and attention than the adult additions.”
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