York skeletons confirmed as English Civil War dead

Google map of the excavation site on the junction of Fawcett Street/Kent Street, York, prior to re-development. View larger map
113 skeletons found in York have been proven to be from the English Civil War siege of 1644.

Scientists from BBC History Cold Case conducted a series of tests on the bones, which were found at the junction of Fishergate and Kent Street after a routine rescue excavation in 2007-8 ...

In April 1644 the Marquess of Newcastle arrived with his northern army to further strength the Royalist garrison inside the walled, well-defended city.

Attempting to capture the king's northern stronghold were Lord Fairfax, who positioned his army to the east, and Scots Covenanter forces, led by the Earl of Leven, stationed to the south and west. After initial slow progress the besieging parliamentary forces were joined in June by the Earl of Manchester, who positioned his men to the north of the city.

Despite overwhelming opposition numbers, the garrison held out against artillery fire, attempts to under-mine the defences and frequent breaches of the walls. On the 1st July Prince Rupert arrived with 15,000 men and raised the siege. Disagreement followed between Rupert and Newcastle about when to give battle against the parliamentary armies. The decision to fight the following day on Marston Moor proved disastrous, with Newcastle's army all but destroyed and Rupert's reputation left in tatters. After losing over 4,000 dead the surviving Royalists tried to retreat towards York, but the city was all but lost: it surrendered two weeks later.

Walmgate Bar, York. The only one of the four York city wall entrances with a surviving barbican.
 The Bar was attacked by besieging parliamentary forces in the 1644 siege, and still has the scars.
Photo: Krystian Hasterok - (CC/A2.5)

Excavations on the same site prior to the 2007-8 dig had revealed evidence of the long-lost church of All Saint's, Fishergate. The project team had expected to find evidence of the medieval church and graveyard, and almost 550 medieval graves were uncovered. What surprised the project team, however, was the discovery of a series of more recent, mass graves, containing 113 further skeletons.

These graves had been dug partially inside the shell of the church after it had been demolished. The majority were placed face down or on their sides, with limbs overlapping. No personal possessions were found, suggesting that the bodies had been stripped and buried in a hurry. The sex, age and physical condition of the skeletons showed that they were likely to have been in military occupation, and all died with the same short time.

The conclusion of the team at the time of the dig was that these were likely to be victims of the 1644 siege, however some doubts remained: the overall pattern of health and disease of the bodies showed almost no evidence of violent trauma associated with battle wounds. This led to the suggestion that the victims may have died of disease.

Disease played a large attritional role in demoralising siege armies, and York was no different. Historical records show that while the garrison inside the walls were well-provisioned, the besieging parliamentary forces suffered sever hardships, leaving them susceptible to infectious disease. Documents also show that Roundhead forces were particularly concentrated around Walmgate Bar, one of the city's four fortified entrances. The proximity of Walmgate to the burial site gives extra credence to this interpretation.

The dig site (bottom) and Walmgate Bar (top-right) are approximately 500m apart

But could science provide any further clues?

Step forward the BBC's History Cold Case. Professor Sue Black and her team used carbon dating, bone isotopic analysis, and facial reconstructions to examine the skeletons, which showed they had died between 1480 and 1687, with the location of the grave establishing that they were buried sometime in the 17th century.

Some had broken bones and serious infections, but there were no obvious causes of death. The isotope testing revealed that most of the men had lived on a diet of seafood, suggesting they were troops who had served under Fairfax, a large portion of whom were from the port of Hull and the surrounding area.

Two sets of remains were of particular interest to the History Cold Case team. The hand bones of one were fused together while the second skeleton had more severe bone fusions in an arm and leg. The disability is genetically linked, making it highly probably that the two were related, though the team could not extract DNA of high enough quality to establish this for certain.

The scientific team concluded that with the absence of traumatic mortal injuries and given that contagious diseases were rife during the English Civil War, the dead most likely died of Typhus Fever.

A write-up of the 2007-8 excavation by Lauren McIntyre and project officer Graham Bruce- with excellent photos of the dig including the skeletons in-situ - can be read here.

On-Site Archaeology (who carried out the dig)
BBC History Cold Case: The York 113