The archaeologists exhumed the skeletons of 240 people, including remains of 100 children, beneath a former departmental store in Whale’s Pembrokeshire.
Ocky White, the departmental store was a popular store for more than a hundred years before it closed permanently in 2013.
According to a report by BBC, the site is being redeveloped to become a food emporium, bar and rooftop terrace.
Site supervisor, Andrew Shobbrook described the priory as a ‘significant complex of buildings with dormitories, scriptoriums (or rooms in medieval European monasteries devoted to writing’. “It’s quite a prestigious place to be buried. You have a range of people, from the wealthy to general townsfolk,” he said.
“We know that the town was besieged in 1405 by Owain Glyndŵr and they could be victims of that conflict,” he added.
About half of the remains are those of children, which is said to be a reflection of their high mortality rate at the time. The bones will be analysed for further details before they are reburied.
Archaeologist Gaby Lester on the discovery said, “never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be involved in something so big,” adding that the site is a massive part of Haverfordwest and Pembrokeshire’s history.
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