Medieval burials — and possibly a former bell tower — found at site of UK parking lot
With a history as deep and rich as the United Kingdom, it’s nearly impossible to dig into the ground without discovering a piece of the past.
Centuries of history lies just below the surface, and in Abingdon, England, all it took was a construction project in a parking lot to bring the past back into the light.
“A piece of Abingdon’s rich history has been discovered during preliminary work to improve Cattlemarket car park,” the Vale of White Horse District Council said in a Nov. 27 news release and Facebook post.
The parking lot is just north of Abbey Baptist Church, the site of previous archaeological discoveries such as medieval burials and an Iron Age settlement, the council said and the BBC reported.
Archaeologists working on a survey ahead of the parking lot improvements dug trenches to see the layers of the soil, the council said.
“The six trenches revealed layers of archaeological deposits dating to the medieval and Roman periods from pottery recovered in these layers,” according to the council. “Human burials were also found under the car park which are likely associated with other burials previously recorded in the surrounding area.”
Archaeologists also found the remains of a stone wall, the council said. The exact date of its construction is still under investigation, but the wall falls in an area where a former bell tower was believed to be constructed.
“The findings are considered to be of high archaeological significance in association with Abbey Church, immediately south of the site, and the history of Abingdon,” James McNicoll-Norbury with ADAS, a firm working on the project, said. “The burials and the walls will be preserved due to their significance, as part of future development plans for the car park.”
The town of Abingdon was founded by the Saxons around a Benedictine abbey that was established in 676 A.D., according to Britannica. The abbey was later dissolved, and some of the remains were used for a theater. Abingdon is within the “Oxfordshire’s Science Vale,” where technology and start-up companies have congregated, Britannica said.
Abingdon is just south of Oxford, England, about a 60-mile drive northwest from London.
This story was originally published November 29, 2024 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Medieval burials — and possibly a former bell tower — found at site of UK parking lot."
