Carbon
dating confirmed that human remains discovered hidden
in a church wall in 1885 are from the seventh century,
and are almost certainly the bones of St. Eanswythe, one
of the first English saints.
Dr.
Andrew Richardson of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust
praised the work of the “locally-based community
partnership” that had the bones being carbon dated,
and called the discovery “a stunning result of national
importance.”
The
testing of the remains was led by the Finding Eanswythe
Project and the Folkestone Museum. The Finding Eanswythe
Project is, per its website, “a community-led project
about a nationally important heritage.”
If
the bones are St. Eanswythe’s, they would be the
only known surviving remains of the Kentish royal house,
said Richardson. The Kingdom of Kent existed from the
mid-fifth century through the year 871 before it was disestablished.
Kent is now a county in England.
St.
Eanswythe was the granddaughter of King Ethelbert, the
first Christian king in England, and the daughter of King
Eadbald of Kent. She was born in approximately 614 AD.
Around the year 630, she founded a Benedictine Priory
in the town of Folkestone, in southeastern Kent. She is
believed to have been the abbess of this community and
died of unknown causes between the ages of 17 and 22.
Popular devotion to her grew up quickly in the surrounding
area and her life was recorded by the monk and hagiographer
Goscelin of Canterbury.
Following
her death, the convent continued for some time before
closing - according to some sources after being sacked
by Viking raiders - and the site collapsed into the sea.
In 1138, her remains were transferred to the newly-built
priory in Folkestone that was named in her honour.
On
November 15, 1535, the priory church was seized, and all
relics found there were destroyed as part of the Dissolution
of Monasteries during the Reformation.
St. Eanswythe’s remains were hidden by monks during
the Reformation period of Catholic persecution in England.
The bones were discovered, hidden in a lead box that was
concealed in a church wall, in June of 1885.
Richardson
admitted that while he was not 100% certain the bones
were St. Eanswythe’s, he said he considered it on
the same “terms of certainty in comparing it to
Richard III” and that “There’s not really
any indication it’s someone else.”
King
Richard III of England, a Catholic, died in 1485. His
remains were discovered in 2012 under a parking lot in
Leicester, and DNA tests later all-but-confirmed the identity
of the bones.
A
news brief published in the August 9, 1885 edition of
the New York Times described the discovery of St. Eanswythe’s
bones.
“Some
workmen, in removing the plaster from a niche in the north
wall, noticed that the masonry showed signs of having
been disturbed at some period, and a further search was
made. Taking away a layer of rubble and broken tiles a
cavity was discovered and in this a broken and corroded
leaden casket, oval shaped, about 18 inches long and 12
inches broad, the sides being about 10 inches high,”
said the New York Times.
“Within
it were human remains, but in such a crumbling condition
that the vicar declined to allow them to be touched except
by experts,” the brief said.
Now that carbon dating has confirmed that the remains
are from the seventh century, there will be further DNA
and isotope testing to learn more about the life of the
early Christian saint.
“There
is more work to be done to realize the full potential
of this discovery,” said Richardson. “But
certainly the project represents a wonderful conjunction
not only of archaeology and history, but also of a continuous
living faith tradition at Folkestone from the mid-seventh
century down to the present day.”