Mandy Ewington was strolling along a British coastline when she looked up and noticed two odd-looking “tubes” sticking out of the face of a cliff. She quickly recognized the protruding white tubes for what they were, femur bones, and snapped pictures which she sent to leading coastal archaeologist Karl-James Langford. Langford also recognized the grisly remains as two thigh bones which were slowly being revealed as the cliffs eroded away.
Langford explained that Monknash, in South Wales, was a burial ground for Cistercian monks in the Middle Ages. Analysis of the bones revealed they belonged to a male in his late 20’s which were estimated to have been interred in the 1200’s.
“It’s quite an easy picture to put together. There was a religious community close to the area and these bones indicate a male in his late 20s who was in good health. The valley is named after the Welsh saint Cewydd and was home to a community of Cistercian Monks from 1129 until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1535. He would likely be buried with nothing except two shroud rings which would have held his burial shroud in place at the head and feet.”
According to Langford, nobody can touch or excavate these bones because they are in such a dangerous position.