Infant skeleton uncovered under Durham floorboards, wrapped in 1910 newspaper
A builder in Bishop Auckland discovered a newborn's skeleton beneath floorboards, bound with twine and encased in a 1910 newspaper; carbon dating points to a death sometime between the 18th and early 19th centuries.
During renovation work in a Victorian-era property in Bishop Auckland, builder Peter Moody uncovered a tiny skeleton hidden beneath the floorboards, wrapped in a 1910 newspaper and a 50-60 inch length of brown twine looped around the child's neck. The district coroner, Crispin Oliver, reported that the remains belong to a male infant roughly 38 to 40 weeks old. Carbon dating, performed by a specialist from the University of Glasgow, produced several possible periods, with the 1725-1812 range considered most likely, though dates from the mid-17th to early-20th centuries were also possible.
Dr Louise Mulcahy and forensic anthropologist Dr Micol Zupello conducted the post-mortem on August 2, 2024. Authorities and the local council organized a funeral, and the child was interred in the town's cemetery. The inquest remains ongoing to determine the cause of death.
Why it matters
The find offers a rare glimpse into historic child mortality and burial practices in England.
In this story
