Abbey discovery suggests unusual medieval concept of afterlife

Research using ground-penetrating radar has revealed the graves of more than 500 medieval Cistercian monks and lay brothers buried in a manner that suggests their beliefs surrounding resurrection were unusual for their times, writes Paul Wilkinson.

Investigations at the National Trust’s World Heritage Site at Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, by experts from the University of Bradford and the commercial specialists Geoscan Research and Mala Geoscience found a series of “bunk-bed” graves with bodies stacked up to four deep and separated by stone partitions in the same grave.

The experts believe that this indicates the importance of keeping the remains separate, suggesting that the monks believed that if bodies were damaged after death, their souls would be too. This was unusual in medieval Christian communities which focused on the welfare of the soul of the departed rather than their mortal remains.

Dr Chris Gaffney, Head of Archaeological Sciences at Bradford, said: “The results at Fountains are little short of remarkable. Archaeologically they are among the most complete graveyards uncovered using geophysical techniques. As a general rule, burials are difficult to detect by geophysical means so revealing the whole layout of a cemetery is exceptionally unusual.”

National Trust archaeologist, Mark Newman, added: “Thanks to this remarkable modern technology and research, we now know fascinating and hitherto unknown details of the life of the monastic community.”