Archaeologists discover massive graveyard under English college

Archaeologists have discovered a medieval hospital cemetery beneath the Old Divinity School at St. John's College in Cambridge, and they've unearthed skeletal remains from more than 400 medieval burials.

The archaeologists, who are part of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, believe the burial grounds contained about 1,300 burials. In a statement from the University of Cambridge, the archaeologists describe the skeletons as "almost perfectly preserved," despite being underground for centuries.

The bodies were from the medieval Hospital of St. John the Evangelist and date back to the 13th to 15th centuries. The archaeologists believe the cemetery was built to serve the poor, because most of the burials lacked coffins and personal items.

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The team's statement notes that the cemetery's existence has been known to researchers for years, but they had no idea how large the burial ground actually was until the recent excavation.