Medieval cemetery amazes experts with new mysteries

Researchers have found 39 adult skeletons in the cemetery so far

A medieval cemetery discovered by archaeologists last year has amazed researchers as they've unveiled its secrets.

The site, which is near Cardiff Airport, is believed to date all the way back to the 6th or 7th century.

When experts first came across the cemetery, they found lots of skeletons lying in unusual positions, and there were also artefacts they didn't expect to see.

The team working on the excavation, which is when earth is dug up from the ground so buried objects can be removed, have learnt nearly all of the people who were buried in the cemetery were women.

Archaeologists have to remove the earth to unveil the skeletons buried in the ground

Although the condition of their bones suggests the women would have done heavy manual work, there are also surprising signs of wealth and luxury.

While most of those found were buried with great care, one woman seems to have been put in a ditch in a less careful way, something the researchers did not expect to see.

The team has taken her bones to the lab at Cardiff University to try to find out more about her.

"Every time we think we understand something, something else crops up and the picture gets more intriguing," said Andy Seaman from Cardiff University, who is leading the project.

The skeleton of the woman found in the ditch is being analysed in the lab

About half the site has now been excavated, and researchers have found 39 adult skeletons so far.

The old remains found are still being examined, but there's only one which belongs to a man.

"I'm not entirely sure what it means just yet," said Dr Seaman.

"It could be that it's something particular about this community, or it could be that this is perhaps just one cemetery within a broader kind of landscape, or it might be that there's more men in another part of the cemetery."

The skeletons of two children have also been found, and their burials have sparked the interest of researchers too.

"The earth that's been used to backfill the grave looks slightly different to that in the adults' graves," explained Dr Marion Shiner, an archaeologist from Cardiff University.

"It's darker and seems more organic, so potentially some time had elapsed between the burial of the adults and the burial of these two children - it's more mystery."

Shards of glass were also found in the graves

Archaeologists also found artefacts at the site which could shed some more light on who these people were.

Shards of pottery and glass found in the graves were thought to be brought to the cemetery by people feasting while they visited.

The dig will continue this summer, and the archaeologists will start to look at the other half of the cemetery.

"We're hoping to tell the story of the individuals within the cemetery, but also the broader community," Dr Seaman said.

"We know a lot about the lives of kings and queens but much less about everyday people. And never before really have we been able to explore a single community in so much detail and all the interesting inter-relationships."