Bones found in Church Road date to the mid-17th century
AS THE English Civil War drew to a close and the Lord Protectors ruled over the British Isles, a body was buried underneath the site of Church Road in St Sampson’s.
More than three centuries later, the bones were found by some surprised workers installing a telecoms cable.
The discovery was made in March last year, but dating for the mysterious bones has only now taken place.
While the site is very close to St Sampson’s Church, States archaeologist Dr Phil de Jersey said the find was quite surprising, as Guernsey’s oldest maps show that Church Road had existed for centuries.
Small pieces of bone were taken from the telecoms trench and dated to between 1650 and 1660.
‘So the road must have been put in after 1650, but before 1787, when the Duke of Richmond map was made,’ Dr de Jersey.
‘The bones were dated to about 1650, but within 100 years or so – so not very much later – someone decided to put a road that goes right over the top of the cemetery.’
There is no exact date for when the road was built – the Duke of Richmond map is the earliest accurate map available, and that shows it was already existing there.
It is also unclear exactly how old the nearby St Sampson’s Church is.
It has a reputation for being one of the oldest churches in Guernsey, but it is not known when it was built.
Dr de Jersey said what was unusual was that there was a road running close to the medieval building and it is was unclear why someone felt it was so important it go there.
The graveyard is relatively small and part of it – on the south side of the church – fell into the quarry in 1969.
Now it is clear that the graveyard must have extended further to the west as well.
‘There is a quarry and cottages across the road from the church, which could have burials underneath them,’ Dr de Jersey said.
It is unclear how far the graveyard did extend, but Dr de Jersey said it would be interesting to hear from anyone in the area who had found anything interesting previously.
The find also means the department can keep an eye on any other development in the area in future, to see if any more clues about the graveyard are revealed.
As for the discovered bones themselves, Dr de Jersey said they had been keen not to disturb them too much.
Geomarine workers had only dug a 40cm-wide trench for the telecoms cable, so they could see the bones, but not determine the sex or anything further about the body.
A few small bones were taken for the dating process.
Dr de Jersey said he was grateful to Geomarine, whose staff had been helpful.
