Wharram Percy

Yorkshire · Storbritannien · Abandoned village

Wharram Percy in North Yorkshire is one of England's best-known deserted medieval villages. It emptied gradually in the later Middle Ages as arable land was turned over to sheep, and in 1527 the last strips were converted to pasture. The ruin of St Martin's Church and the outlines of houses in the grass remain. In the early 1960s a pit inside the settlement yielded 137 human bones from at least ten people, children and adults, dated mainly to the 11th–13th centuries. The bones carried knife marks, burning and breaks. A 2017 study tested famine and outsider status as explanations and preferred the interpretation that the bodies were treated to stop dangerous dead from returning, while also setting out objections. The site is cared for by English Heritage; please leave the ground and ruins undisturbed.

Andre kilder om stedet

• New archaeological evidence throws light on efforts to resist the living dead Historic England
• A multidisciplinary study of a burnt and mutilated assemblage of human remains from a deserted Mediaeval village in England Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
• The living and the dead at Wharram Percy Medieval Settlement Research
• History of Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village English Heritage

FAQ

Hvor ligger Wharram Percy?

Wharram Percy ligger i Yorkshire, Storbritannien.

Oplysningerne bygger på lokal folketro og vidneberetninger.

Image: John H Darch · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons