Bodies found under Warwickshire patio are Anglo Saxon

WHEN Ratley couple Stephen and Nicky West were having their house extended the last thing they expected to find was bodies under the patio.

By The Newsroom

Published 22nd Nov 2011, 16:06 BST

Builders uncovered the bones beneath the couple’s garden near Edgehill but the age of the remains meant the couple - both keen historians - called in archaeologists from Warwickshire County Council.

And when Archaeology Warwickshire manager Stuart Palmer visited the couple’s garden in Rately, he decided any foul play was committed many centuries ago - and that the site was of great historic importance.

Excavations uncovered the remains of at least four bodies, including two women, a young man and a child aged between ten and 12.

Radiocarbon dating shows they died between 650AD and 820AD.

• Find out more - and see pictures - in Friday’s Courier and Weekly News.

Warwickshire Warwickshire County Council