Bone walls found in church

Debi

Owner/Admin
Staff
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
240,740
Reaction score
232,144
Points
315
Location
South of Indy
Bone walls made of human limbs and skulls discovered under church in Belgium | Live Science

Bone walls made of human limbs and skulls discovered under church in Belgium
By Laura Geggel - Associate Editor a day ago

These bones likely came from an old graveyard that was cleared hundreds of years ago.

s9YPkNXGEjoFpRogLh3VMZ-320-80.jpeg


Archaeologists recently discovered walls built from a macabre material: human bones, including shattered skulls, while excavating the grounds of a church in Ghent, Belgium.

By the end of the excavation, archaeologists had uncovered nine walls, built mostly with adult thighs and shin bones. The intermediate zones were filled with skulls, many of them fragmented, according to Ruben Willaert, Restoration & Archeology / Decoration, the Dutch company that found the walls during an excavation ahead of construction for a new visitor's center at the cathedral.

These ghastly structures were likely the work of people who, hundreds of years ago, cleared out an old graveyard to make room either for new bodies or a church renovation, said archaeologist Janiek De Gryse, on staff at Ruben Willaert and the excavation's project leader.

"When clearing a churchyard, the skeletons cannot just be thrown away," de Gryse told Live Science in an email. "Given that the faithful believed in a resurrection of the body, the bones were considered the most important part."

Safeguarding human remains was so important that sometimes stone houses were "built against the walls of city graveyards to house skulls and the long bones in what is called an ossuary," de Gryse said.

The bone walls were discovered on the north side of Saint Bavo's Cathedral, formerly known as the Church of St. John the Baptist, or St. Jan. Radiocarbon dating of the bones suggests they date to the second half of the 15th century, but the walls were likely constructed later, in the 17th or early 18th centuries, de Gryse said.

Historical documents support these dates. One source notes that the church's cemetery was cleared during the first half of the 16th century and again, after 1784, when the cemetery stopped taking new bodies.

No matter the date, these walls are a one-of-a-kind find.

"We don’t have any comparison in Belgium," de Gryse said. Most historical graveyards consist of large pits or layers filled with loose human bones. "We have never seen structures, like walls, which are intentionally built with human bones," de Gryse said.

Full story and more pics at site
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paintman
The more I think about it there is no safe place to be burried forever. Do you all think cremation is ok? Does it go against Christian beliefs ? I hate the thought of being dug up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ozentity
The more I think about it there is no safe place to be burried forever. Do you all think cremation is ok? Does it go against Christian beliefs ? I hate the thought of being dug up.
Personally, I have chosen cremation for myself. Doesn't the Bible say something about ashes to ashes, dust to dust? If we truly believe our soul/spirit is simply in this carrier we call a body, why would it be wrong?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ozentity
They probably started burying people just so they didn't have to watch animals eating the remains and maybe get a taste for people and obviously not to stink up the place.The reason for burying people in religions probably from that necessity.Cremation I feel is a better idea so we don't have to worry about disturbing buried bodies.While I don't care what they do with my remains, I saw a doco about preserving them and turning the body to a plastic like state to study I think,I don't think I'd want that.I have a close female friend I grew up with who is extremely religious and Catholic,so much so she has never had a relationship with anyone because she never married.A very genuine and beautiful person.She would never dream of being cremated and her whole family is buried close together at the same cemetary.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Lynne
I couldn't care less what is done with the body when I am done with it. When my car dies I get rid of it. I plan on being incinerated and my ashes dropped into the river that I so love at midnight on a night with a full moon. If there is anything left on me that is worthwhile I hope that they salvage it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lynne
Personally, I have chosen cremation for myself. Doesn't the Bible say something about ashes to ashes, dust to dust? If we truly believe our soul/spirit is simply in this carrier we call a body, why would it be wrong?
The reasoning is the sanctity of the body and it’s awaiting of resurrection.
 
The whole Christian rise-from-the-dead resurrection thing always bothered me. I reckon if all that's left of a body is a skull and a long bone or two, resurrection and rising from the grave ain't gonna work so good. And what about people who have died after a long destructive illness or had amputations? Is God really gonna make them rise from their graves in ravaged bodies? Honestly, I think the whole thing started as a scam by the church to get people to have to pay to be buried in churchyards in order to get into heaven.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Keel M.
The whole Christian rise-from-the-dead resurrection thing always bothered me. I reckon if all that's left of a body is a skull and a long bone or two, resurrection and rising from the grave ain't gonna work so good. And what about people who have died after a long destructive illness or had amputations? Is God really gonna make them rise from their graves in ravaged bodies? Honestly, I think the whole thing started as a scam by the church to get people to have to pay to be buried in churchyards in order to get into heaven.
Everyone has their own beliefs and we respect them all here. It’s important to remember belief is not always about logic but faith in an all powerful God.
 
True, Lynne! And I sincerely apologize if I offended or hurt anyone with my statements.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lynne