Wharram Percy
Yorkshire · United Kingdom · Abandoned village
137 human bones in a pit inside the medieval village bore knife marks and traces of fire. Researchers interpret them as an attempt to stop the dead from walking again.
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.
Other sources about this place
- 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
Where is Wharram Percy located?
Wharram Percy is in Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
More haunted places in Yorkshire
- Mary King's Close Edinburgh, Scotland · Urban site
- Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh, Scotland · Fortress
- St Giles' Cathedral and the Heart of Midlothian Edinburgh, Scotland · Church
- Witches' Well, Castle Esplanade Edinburgh, Scotland · Execution site
- Alexandra Palace Theatre — the Victorian stage that woke up London · Theatre
- Grim's Dyke — the lake where Gilbert drowned London · Manor
- Berkeley Castle Berkeley, Gloucestershire · Castle
- Berry Pomeroy Castle Devon · Ruin
Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.
Image: John H Darch · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons