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Shocked couple find four bodies under their patio... and discover they are living on top of a 1,400-year-old Anglo Saxon burial ground
'The builder knocked and said "Stephen, I think there's something you need to see". He had a skull in his hand and I thought "Oh my goodness" ' Archaeologists identified two adult females, a young male and a juvenile aged between 10 and 12 'You do hear all these stories about ancient burial grounds bringing curses, we just have to hope they're not true I suppose'
By Sara Nelson
Last updated at 11:24 AM on 23rd November 2011
A couple were forced to halt the extension of their home after making the grisly discovery of four ancient skeletons under their patio.
Stephen and Nicky West were having their home redeveloped in Ratley, a village in South Warwickshire, when one of the builders unearthed the 1,400-year-old remains.
They are believed to have formed part of an Anglo-Saxon burial ground.
Ancient skeletons of four people were unearthed during extension works at the Rately home, Warks, of Stephen (pictured) and Nicky West. The 1,400-year-old remains are part of an Anglo Saxon burial ground
The village is near to Edgehill - site of the the battle of Edgehill, where the king's army clashed with Parliamentarians in 1642 at the start of the English Civil War.
Mr West, 55, said: 'It was the age-old story of builder taps on window saying he has something to tell us. The builder knocked and said "Stephen, I think there's something you need to see".
'He had a skull in his hand and I thought "Oh my goodness".'
Mr West said at first he thought the bodies were probably casualties of the battle.
He said: 'It was funny because when we started the work on the house people said 'You'll probably find bones in the garden from the civil war' but they predated that by a long way.'
In fact the bones predated the civil war by 1,000 years.
Radiocarbon dating has revealed the bones date back to between 650AD and 820AD
'They're probably 1,400 years old,' said Stephen, who runs an online company selling bird food.
'It's amazing to think these people lived in the same place as us.
'We now wonder what we'll find whenever we dig up the garden, the experts said there's probably more there.
'We're interested to know what's down there, but to be honest we'd like to keep the bit of the house we live in standing where it is so we won't be searching too hard.'
Mrs West informed Warwickshire County Council's archaeologists who recently had the remains confirmed that the remains were over 1,000 years old.
Archaeology Warwickshire's manager Stuart Palmer visited the site to determine the skeletons had been buried there long ago and were not the victims of any recent foul play.
The bones were taken away first to Gloucester University and then to York University for testing by expert archaeologists
Mr Palmer said the group did not normally undertake scientific research on all finds because the service's funds were limited.
But Stephen, and his wife Nicky, 52, an IT project manager, were so intrigued by the discovery they commissioned Archaeology Warwickshire to test the bones.
The bones were discovered in autumn last year but the service has only recently released the test results.
They were taken away first to Gloucester University and then to York University for testing.
The archaeologists identified the remains of at least four bodies which included two adult females, a young male and a juvenile aged between 10 and 12.
Archaeologists have identified the remains of at least four bodies which included two adult females, a young male and a juvenile aged between 10 and 12
Radiocarbon dating from two of the skeletons show that they died around 650-820 AD in what is known as the middle Saxon period.
England at this time was divided into a number of kingdoms and Ratley may have been in a frontier war zone between the Saxon kingdom of the Hwicce and the eventually dominant Anglian kingdom of Mercia.
Mr Palmer said: 'The discovery of this previously unsuspected burial ground is an extremely rare and important addition to what has previously been an archaeologically invisible period of Warwickshire's history.
'Detailed analysis of the skeletons has revealed an insight into the health of the middle Saxon population who clearly suffered periods of malnourishment and were subject to a wide range of infections indicative of lives of extreme hardship and often near-constant pain.'
Mr West (pictured outside his home) says the find is 'spine-tingling' to think he's been sleeping on top of such history
He said it was quite rare to find bones of this date anywhere in the county let alone in someone's garden.
He added: 'The bones are almost certainly part of a much larger cemetery.' The bones, which were removed for testing, will now be stored by the service until it is decided where they will be kept permanently.
Mr West said they were not bothered about living on top of an ancient burial ground.
He said: 'It's spine tingling to think there's so much history and we're sleeping on it.
'It's one of those odd things, it's quite comforting in some ways, as long as they don't disturb our sleep.'
'You do hear all these stories about ancient burial grounds bringing curses, we just have to hope they're not true I suppose.'
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