“Unearthing Secrets: What Lies Beneath a Parking Lot? Archaeologists Discover a Medieval Church Linked to a Haunting Mystery of Children’s Skeletons”
The burials were found clustered together just outside the walls of the church, leading experts to speculate that they were “eaves children.” During the Middle Ages, some parents would bury their children where the rain would drip from the church roof onto their graves as “baptismal water,” providing spiritual protection after death.
There could be other reasons for the location of the graves, too. As Rutter explained, “The closer you bury the dead to the altar area, the greater the chances that the responsible saint will come to his church on Judgement Day and collect the souls at the same time.” What’s more, if the children died before they were baptized, they couldn’t be buried on consecrated ground, so parents placed their graves as close to sacred areas as possible.
Thomas KurellaThe shattered remains of a child’s skull found outside the walls of the church.
These discoveries offer a deeper understanding of medieval spiritual practices, and researchers are hopeful that by opening the excavation site to the public, they can help the town reconnect with its historical roots.
This April, the site will host “Open Excavation Day,” allowing residents to visit and explore the findings firsthand. Afterward, construction of the park will continue, but special display boards and possibly even a model of the church will remain on-site to keep visitors engaged with the rich history beneath their feet.
After reading about the medieval church found beneath a German parking lot, learn about nine strange medieval customs. Then, read about the dancing plague of 1518, the strange epidemic that swept the city of Strasbourg.
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