It may look like a scene from Indiana Jones, but this huge collection of human skulls and bones is far from fictional.
A small church in Kent is home to one of the largest and best-preserved collections of ancient human bones and skulls in Britain.
The collection includes over 1,000 skulls on the shelves in four arched bays, and one single stack of bones is over 6ft in height.
The morbid crypt is housed at St Leonard's Church, Hythe, Kent.
Inside the church of skulls and bones: Chilling images of a tiny chapel in Kent reveal it is decorated with the remains of more than 2,000 locals who died 800 years ago
A church in Kent is home to the largest and best-preserved collection of ancient human bones and skulls
The collection includes over 1,000 skulls on shelves and one single stack of bones is over 6ft in height
There have been many theories as to who the people were and how they came to be resting in the crypt
This includes Danish pirates, men who fell in the Battle of Hastings, and Anglo-Saxons killed in battle
By Shivali Best For Mailonline
12 June 2017
It may look like a scene from Indiana Jones, but this huge collection of human skulls and bones is far from fictional.
A small church in Kent is home to one of the largest and best-preserved collections of ancient human bones and skulls in Britain.
The collection includes over 1,000 skulls on the shelves in four arched bays, and one single stack of bones is over 6ft in height.
A small church in Kent is home to one of the largest and best-preserved collections of ancient human bones and skulls in Britain
The morbid crypt is housed at St Leonard's Church, Hythe, Kent.
Photographer Darragh Field visited the collection in June last year and has taken stunning photographs.
He said: 'It's the best collection of ancient bones and skulls in the country and one of only two ossuaries in the UK, so I had to go and see for myself.
'The bones were thought to be remnants of those who fell in the Battle of Hastings, but it turns out they were local residents from the 13th to 15th century.
'The remains are mostly female with only a few skulls showing signs of trauma from blows.'
Although it is impossible to estimate the number of bones in the collection, recent work has guessed that the total of individuals represented in the stack is approximately 2,000.
A number of the skulls indicate breakages and injury, whilst others have evidence of disease from deficiencies and infection.
Despite the macabre setting, the photographer found the atmosphere calming.
He said: 'It felt serene and peaceful. It's very atmospheric and very well kept. A real hidden gem.
The morbid collection is housed at St Leonard's Church, Hythe, Kent. UK-based photographer Darragh Field visited the collection in June 2017 and has taken stunning photographs
Although it is impossible to estimate the number of bones in the collection, recent work has guessed that the total of individuals represented in the stack is approximately 2,000
The collection includes over 1,000 skulls on the shelves in four arched bays, and one single stack of bones is over 6ft in height
'There is no doubt looking at a wall of human skulls is not your everyday experience but this didn't feel sad or oppressive as these people mostly died from natural causes.'
In an ironic twist, one of the skulls had signs of life after death.
Mr Field said: 'The best surprise I got from the crypt was seeing a birds' nest in one of the skulls!'
The collection is similar to the Fontanelle cemetery in Naples, which was used as a mass grave for victims of the plague of 1656.
Visitors bring gifts for the bones - which some believe create a link between the living and the dead - and ask for favours in return.
But the largest collection of human remains in the UK is at London's Natural History Museum, comprising around 25,000 individuals and representing a worldwide distribution of the human population.
WHO DO THE SKULLS BELONG TO?
There have been many theories as to who the people were and how they came to be resting in the crypt.
A 1787 drawing stated in a footnote that the bones were supposed to be those of 'Danish pirates slain in a battle' whilst a handwritten footnote on an 1860s illustration referred to them as 'men who fell in the Battle of Hastings (1066)'.
It was also thought that the people were victims of the Black Death, but such bodies were usually hastily disposed of in quicklime.
Unfortunately, there is no firm evidence to support these theories.
Source: St Leonard's Church
A number of the skulls indicate breakages and injury, whilst others have evidence of disease from deficiencies and infection
+Despite the macabre setting, UK-based photographer Darragh Field said that he found the atmosphere within the church calming
UK photographer Darragh Field said: 'There is no doubt looking at a wall of human skulls is not your everyday experience but this didn't feel sad or oppressive as these people mostly died from natural causes'
There have been many theories as to who the people were and how they came to be resting in the crypt, although none of these have been proved to be true
A 1787 drawing stated in a footnote that the bones were supposed to be those of 'Danish pirates slain in a battle' whilst a handwritten footnote on an 1860s illustration referred to them as 'men who fell in the Battle of Hastings (1066)'
Mr Darragh Field, thephotographer who captured the images of the collection, said: 'The best surprise I got from the crypt was seeing a birds nest in one of the skulls!'
Darragh Field visited the collection in June 2017. He said: 'It's the best collection of ancient bones and skulls in the country and one of only two ossuaries in the UK, so I had to go and see for myself'
It was thought that the people were victims of the Black Death, but such bodies were usually hastily disposed of in quicklime
The collection consists of shelves in four arched bays that contain 1,022 skulls in total, and a single stack of bones and skulls measuring 25ft in length, 6ft and just over 6ft in height
A group of osteologists started an exercise in 2009 to measure the dimensions of the skulls to identify, through a worldwide database, the origin of a small number of the skulls. The initial findings indicate the people are local to Kent
Archaeologists who have studied the collection believe that the majority of the skulls belong to women, although there is no firm evidence for where they came from
The morbid collection, which is thought to include the skulls and bones of around 2,000 people, is housed at St Leonard's Church, Hythe, Kent
The huge collection of bones may look like a scene from Indiana Jones, but this huge collection of human skulls and bones is far from fictional
Read more: Church in Kent is decorated with the human skulls | Daily Mail Online
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A small church in Kent is home to one of the largest and best-preserved collections of ancient human bones and skulls in Britain.
The collection includes over 1,000 skulls on the shelves in four arched bays, and one single stack of bones is over 6ft in height.
The morbid crypt is housed at St Leonard's Church, Hythe, Kent.
Inside the church of skulls and bones: Chilling images of a tiny chapel in Kent reveal it is decorated with the remains of more than 2,000 locals who died 800 years ago
A church in Kent is home to the largest and best-preserved collection of ancient human bones and skulls
The collection includes over 1,000 skulls on shelves and one single stack of bones is over 6ft in height
There have been many theories as to who the people were and how they came to be resting in the crypt
This includes Danish pirates, men who fell in the Battle of Hastings, and Anglo-Saxons killed in battle
By Shivali Best For Mailonline
12 June 2017
It may look like a scene from Indiana Jones, but this huge collection of human skulls and bones is far from fictional.
A small church in Kent is home to one of the largest and best-preserved collections of ancient human bones and skulls in Britain.
The collection includes over 1,000 skulls on the shelves in four arched bays, and one single stack of bones is over 6ft in height.
The morbid crypt is housed at St Leonard's Church, Hythe, Kent.
Photographer Darragh Field visited the collection in June last year and has taken stunning photographs.
He said: 'It's the best collection of ancient bones and skulls in the country and one of only two ossuaries in the UK, so I had to go and see for myself.
'The bones were thought to be remnants of those who fell in the Battle of Hastings, but it turns out they were local residents from the 13th to 15th century.
'The remains are mostly female with only a few skulls showing signs of trauma from blows.'
Although it is impossible to estimate the number of bones in the collection, recent work has guessed that the total of individuals represented in the stack is approximately 2,000.
A number of the skulls indicate breakages and injury, whilst others have evidence of disease from deficiencies and infection.
Despite the macabre setting, the photographer found the atmosphere calming.
He said: 'It felt serene and peaceful. It's very atmospheric and very well kept. A real hidden gem.
The morbid collection is housed at St Leonard's Church, Hythe, Kent. UK-based photographer Darragh Field visited the collection in June 2017 and has taken stunning photographs
The collection includes over 1,000 skulls on the shelves in four arched bays, and one single stack of bones is over 6ft in height
'There is no doubt looking at a wall of human skulls is not your everyday experience but this didn't feel sad or oppressive as these people mostly died from natural causes.'
In an ironic twist, one of the skulls had signs of life after death.
Mr Field said: 'The best surprise I got from the crypt was seeing a birds' nest in one of the skulls!'
The collection is similar to the Fontanelle cemetery in Naples, which was used as a mass grave for victims of the plague of 1656.
Visitors bring gifts for the bones - which some believe create a link between the living and the dead - and ask for favours in return.
But the largest collection of human remains in the UK is at London's Natural History Museum, comprising around 25,000 individuals and representing a worldwide distribution of the human population.
WHO DO THE SKULLS BELONG TO?
There have been many theories as to who the people were and how they came to be resting in the crypt.
A 1787 drawing stated in a footnote that the bones were supposed to be those of 'Danish pirates slain in a battle' whilst a handwritten footnote on an 1860s illustration referred to them as 'men who fell in the Battle of Hastings (1066)'.
It was also thought that the people were victims of the Black Death, but such bodies were usually hastily disposed of in quicklime.
Unfortunately, there is no firm evidence to support these theories.
Source: St Leonard's Church
A group of osteologists started an exercise in 2009 to measure the dimensions of the skulls to identify, through a worldwide database, the origin of a small number of the skulls. The initial findings indicate the people are local to Kent
Archaeologists who have studied the collection believe that the majority of the skulls belong to women, although there is no firm evidence for where they came from
Read more: Church in Kent is decorated with the human skulls | Daily Mail Online
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