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Skeletons found next to Durham cathedral
One of the skeletons discovered in a mass grave in Durham that have been identified as the remains of Scottish prisoners after Battle of Dunbar in 1650. Photograph: Craig Connor/NNP/Durham Universi/PA
One of the skeletons discovered in a mass grave in Durham that have been identified as the remains of Scottish prisoners after Battle of Dunbar in 1650. Photograph: Craig Connor/NNP/Durham Universi/PA

Skeletons found near Durham cathedral were Oliver Cromwell's prisoners

This article is more than 8 years old

Archaeologists shed new light on 365-year-old mystery by identifiying remains of one of bloodiest battles of English civil war

Skeletons found in two mass graves next to Durham cathedral have been revealed to be the remains of Scottish soldiers taken prisoner on the orders of Oliver Cromwell in one of the bloodiest battles of the 17th-century civil wars.

Archaeologists at Durham University on Wednesday published the results of more than 18 months’ research into the mystery of the jumbled skeletons of between 17 and 28 people that had lain untouched for more than 350 years.

The research team said the only plausible explanation was that the skeletons are those of Scottish soldiers taken prisoner after the English parliamentarian army’s victory at the 1650 Battle of Dunbar.

The brutal battle, which was over in less than an hour, took place between Cromwell’s army and the woefully unprepared Scottish Covenanters, who supported Charles II’s claims to the Scottish throne.

Dr Anwen Caffell of Durham University pieces together bones from the skeletons that had lain untouched for more than 350 years. Photograph: Richard Rayner/NNP/Durham Univer/PA

Estimates of the number of dead are wildly inconclusive, ranging from 300 to 5,000. Modern calculations estimate that 6,000 soldiers were taken prisoner, about 1,000 of whom – the very sick and wounded – were freed.

About 1,000 of the remaining prisoners died on the 100-mile journey from Dunbar to Durham from a combination of hunger, exhaustion and possible dysentery. Some managed to escape and others were executed after attempting to escape. About 3,000 Scottish soldiers were imprisoned in the then disused Durham cathedral and castle.

An estimated 1,700 prisoners died and were buried in Durham; it is possible that further mass graves exist, perhaps under what are now university buildings.

Richard Annis, senior archaeologist at Archaeolgical Services Durham University, said: “This is an extremely significant find, particularly because it sheds new light on a 365-year-old mystery of what happened to the bodies of the soldiers who died.

“Their burial was a military operation: the dead bodies were tipped into two pits, possibly over a period of days. They were at the far end of what would have been the Durham castle grounds, as far from the castle itself – they were out of sight, out of mind.”

The human remains, all men and mainly aged 13 to 25, were discovered in November 2013 during building work for a new cafe. All the evidence points to them being prisoners from the Dunbar battle. Andrew Millard, senior lecturer with the university’s department of archaeology, said it had been like piecing together a jigsaw.

“Taking into account the range of detailed scientific evidence we have now, alongside historical evidence from the time, the identification of the bodies as the Scottish soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar is the only plausible explanation,” he said.

There will be discussions to determine what will happen to the remains and what sort of commemoration there might be. Given the soldiers would have predominantly been Scottish Presbyterians, the Church of Scotland will be involved.

Canon Rosalind Brown, of Durham cathedral, said it would work closely with interested partners to determine the best course of action. “We are particularly mindful of descendants of the Scottish soldiers and hope and pray that this new information can bring solace,” she said.

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