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The Sealed Chamber - unearthed today


indy

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For many years Archaeologist & Presenter James Balme has been fascinated by the ancient church of St Werburgh in Warburton, Cheshire. In approximately AD 1178 an abbey or hospital was founded at the site by Norbertine monks to look after the sick & poor of the surrounding area. The site believed to originate during Saxon times & later used for religious purposes has been slowly revealing its ancient secrets. But now during work by volunteers to clear and restore buried gravestones a new & exciting discovery has been made that may rewrite the history of this ancient site .....

 

 

 

:shock: Well it had to happen, years of research finally pays off !!!!

 

 

more to be revealed shortly ... This really is Indiana Jones stuff !!

Edited by Dizzy
Header info added which was on duplicated topic
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Nice video clip Indy! but isn't the 'golden' rule of Archaeological excavation 'not to disclose the whereabouts of the site until completion of the investigation', hopefully you have completed, or your going to have the 'scally's from Partington and Irlam rolling up with JCB GT's doing the job for you. :wink::D :grin:

 

As fug's says - hurry up with the next installment1.

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Fascinating stuff Indy and do hurry up with the next installment.

 

I noticed there were upright headstones on the grave plots you were investigating so are the other inscribed stones part of the same graves but over time they have been covered with earth until you cleared them (including the unmarked stone that seems to be 'joined' in some way?)

 

Wouldn't the church have records of who had actually been buried in that/those plots though especially with them having uprights etc ? It would have been hard to subsequebtly bury anyone else there with a solid stone block in the way.

 

It's got me thinking as to whether there are more details and inscriptions hidden away under the soils of other church yards too rather than those that we can only see from above. It's OK, whatever your answer, I wont be taking a spade with me tomorrow when I walk through our local church yards <_<

 

Sorry if that's a daft question but if I don't ask I don't know :oops::D

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Dizzy walks through the cemetry, spade in hand. Apprehensively, her eyes move from side to side as she advances deeper into the spooky cemetry with an eerie air hanging over it like a mist of years gone by. She appears to be looking for something in particular.

Abruptly Dizzy stops dead in her tracks. Her gaze fixed firmly on an ancient looking tombstone. With some trepidation, she approaches the tombstone to get a closer look at the inscription upon it, some of which had eroded with the passing of time. A twinkle appears in her eye when she read the date 1621.

With a sense of adventure akin to that of an Indiana Jones, she sets to work digging.

For about three quarters of an hour she had been digging when the spade strikes something solid with a loud sort of 'kerchinnng' sound. Taking a closer look, Dizzy espies what appears to be a layer of stone and quickly with renewed enthusiasm she sets about clearing the soil from the surface, spade scraping on stone.

Suddenly a boney hand springs out from under the stone and grabs her by her ankle. Dizzy stand in motionlless, petrified terror, her hair standing on end as a whining, moaning voice calls out from beneath the stone, "Hey up there! Can't a body rest in peace without someone having to come and dig him up"!

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:mellow: The site is well known and visited by many people each and every day .... church records are being checked as we speak to see if it is marked on earlier documents. This feature could be a capped well, the stones placed to seal it off after it went out of use..

 

Moving the stones may not be required and a small camera could be used to see if a void exists under the stones. The iron brackets are fitted to keep the two stones together. If it is a well, the contents/sediments within the well could hold vital clues to its date of construction......

The slabs are being supported by stone plinths to three sides which lay directly below the slabs, why no support to the fouth side I wonder... also missing in the area are two medieval stone coffins, discovered in 1816 but then covered up again days later. More than likely dating from the time of the monastic occupation.

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Other duplicated topic now deleted Indy as per your post and I've added your other info to your original opening post on this one. Let me know if you want this leaving here or moving to 'History' :wink:

 

Fascinating stuff Indy. If it's open to one side are you going to dig a bit and then poke your hand in with a normal camera. Watch nothing grabs you.

 

Thinking about only 3 sides being supported though could it perhaps be the exit/entrance to a tunnel of sorts as didn't some churches have tunnels many years ago. I'm probably being stupid now :oops:

 

Bit odd that some medieval stone coffins are missing, they might be planters in someone's garden now <_<

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