Archaeologists discover dozens of skeletons under Westminster Abbey toilet

(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

published 23 September 2015

When demolishing an old lavatory block from the 1950s at Westminster Abbey, archaeologists stumbled upon the remains of 50 people from the 11th or early 12th century. The bones, including skulls and leg bones, were stacked up underneath Victorian drainage pipes just outside the wall of Poet's Corner, and are believed to have been placed there over 500 years ago by workers building the new abbey. Some of the bones even bear the evidence of Henry III's £45,000 project, with the occasional square hole in a skull left by the pickaxes of the king's workers.

While those of the highest status would have been buried inside the church, archaeologists presume that the skeletons' proximity to the church "indicate[s] they were probably those of senior clergy," The Guardian reports. This latest discovery brings the total tally of individuals discovered in the abbey up to 3,350, and archaeologists expect they will continue to uncover more bones. Archaeologists hope the findings will offer further insights into an early period in which The Guardian reports many "unanswered questions about the great abbey" remain.