6,500 bodies exhumed at HS2 rail station site
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have finished digging up the remains of 6,500 bodies in an old cemetery on the HS2 Curzon Street station site.
The team have reached a major milestone by completing the excavation of the 19th century burial ground. Over a year, 70 experts have removed the bones before the highspeed rail developers move in.
Park Street burial ground was opened in 1810 as an overflow cemetery for St Martin in the Bullring and remained open for 63 years, closing to public burials in 1873.
Archaeologists are now beginning to examine the skeletons in closer detail, alongside artefacts discovered within the burial ground, including figurines, coins, toys and necklaces.
Nameplates have been found with a small number of the people buried at the site, and the team will combine research of historical documents, such as parish records and wills, with analysis of the skeletons, to develop detailed biographies of those they have discovered.
Claire Cogar, lead archaeologist from MOLA Headland Infrastructure, said: “The careful and fascinating excavation of Park Street burial ground is telling us a great deal of the effects of life in 19th century Birmingham on the population.
“By analysing the archaeological remains, we hope to build a picture of the lives of the people who built Birmingham and made the city what it is today, from the diseases they suffered and what they ate, to where they came from. Our initial findings have already identified evidence of diseases including scurvy and rickets.
“We have also found interesting objects placed into burials.
“One burial contained a bonehandled knife, another had a figurine and others contained dinner plates. These finds provide insights into the types of burial rituals, traditions and practices of the 19th century.”
Mike Lyons, HS2 West Midlands Programme director, added: “Birmingham is at the heart of the HS2 network and we’re proud to have reached this first major milestone in the construction of Curzon Street station.
“We already know
that Birmingham played a pivotal role in the Industrial Revolution and HS2’s archaeology programme will allow us to tell the story of the skilled workers who fuelled it.”
Following research, the remains will be reburied together in consecrated ground in Birmingham in consultation with the Church of England.