A discovery of two skeletons buried under the Tower of London has historians excited.
The skeletons of a mother and child, thought to be commoners who worked at the Tower, have been found buried under its chapel.
The remains are thought to be at least 500-years-old and their discovery is being called a "once in a generation" excavation by the Tower's curator.
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"The archaeological excavation of human remains is so important: it allows us to examine the way in which people lived and died in our palaces," wrote historic buildings curator Alfred Hawkins in a blog post.
Archaeologists spotted the remains while excavating the entrance to the Tower's Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.
"During this process we made discoveries which have turned our understanding of the Chapel upside down and enriched our knowledge of the lives of those who lived and died at the Tower," said Hawkins.
The skeleton of the woman puts her between 35 and 45 years old at the time she died, whereas the child was about seven. The woman was buried in a coffin and the child was wrapped in a shroud.
They were likely interred between 1450 and 1550.
The two sets of bones will be the first full skeletons from beneath the Tower to be analysed by an osteo-archaeologist.
"By looking for marks related to growth, damage, wear and disease we can create an image of how these individuals lived and died," wrote Hawkins.
Newshub.
