Whilst I was in Durham, a news story was prominent on the local TV about some human bones which had been found in an archaeological dig on Durham’s Palace Green. Seeing as it was so topical, I wondered what the local historians – both in the World Heritage Site visitors’ centre, and the guides in the cathedral – had to say about the find. So I asked them. It turned out to be rather a fascinating story.
Two years ago, the University library, which is in a rather sumptuous old building on Palace Green, half way between the cathedral and the castle, decided it wanted to capture even more tourist pounds than it did already. So they decided to convert a disused courtyard into a café, which gave an opportunity for an archaeological dig. To the archaeologists’ surprise, they uncovered a mass grave of hastily-buried bodies. They’ve spent the last two years studying the bones in detail, and it was the results of those investigations that were announced while I was there.
It turned out that they most convincing explanation was that these were the remains of prisoners of war from the Battle of Dunbar of September 1650. An inexperienced army of Scots and European mercenaries was comprehensively trounced by the English forces, and several thousand soldiers captured. The prisoners of war were marched South, and over-wintered in Durham cathedral, which was not in use as a place of worship at the time (presumably, Oliver Cromwell had a downer on cathedrals, as he did on so much else). Although the prisoners were sheltered and fed (the guide in the cathedral was absolutely adamant that they weren’t mistreated in any way – he was very protective of the reputation of the long-dead bishop in charge at the time!), many of them didn’t make it through the winter, but died of disease in the insanitary conditions. Their remains were then hastily mass-buried on the palace green, and the location of the grave was then forgotten. The archaeologists apparently suspect that the grave(s) extend well beyond the area they were able to excavate. The survivors were apparently marched further south in the Spring, and forced to become indentured workers, with some put to use draining the fens and many others shipped off to the colonies in America to work in stone quarries in Maine.
The guide at the World Heritage Site visitors’ centre shared an interesting insight into the insanitary living conditions that led to the outbreak of disease. He said that the prisoners used the east end of the cathedral, behind the High Altar, as their latrine. When the paving slabs at the east end were lifted a few years ago to install underfloor heating, the builders found a thick deposit layer of solidified urine and excrement. Apparently, the cathedral cleaners subsequently complained vociferously that every morning they would come in to find a new slimy stain on their nice clean paving slabs, caused by the underfloor heating gradually evaporating the “deposit”! However, he was at pains to assure me that the problem had been fixed now!
