THE discovery of a mysterious mass grave containing 80 bodies which was discovered on a building site has sparked demands for answers.
Some of the skeletons were found with their hands tied behind their backs at West End Farm near Buckingham.
The unnerving discovery was made during archaeological work on the site ahead of the planned construction of a care home.
The remains were unearthed in early 2020 during ground works ahead of a 72-bed care home being built on the site after the developer commissioned an archaeological investigation to secure planning permission.
All the bones were removed from West End Farm off Brackley Road, leaving empty holes in the ground – but the archaeologists' report was never revealed.
Since then though few details have been released about what era the bodies come from or how they came to be buried in a mass grave in Aylesbury Vale.
Now, Buckinghamshire Council has been called upon to provide answers.
A written question to Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet from Buckingham West Councillor Robin Stuchbury said: "Further to my written question to the Cabinet meeting on September 13, 2021, can the Cabinet Member please provide an update on this matter?
“Is the Council or partners any closer to discovering who and how these people came to be buried on the outskirts of the town of Buckingham?
"I look forward to your verbal and written response on the progress made on this important archaeological site that will enable the facts to be known and the history to be understood."
Cllr Peter Strachan responded during a meeting on Tuesday, saying the council had been “working hard” to get information from Network Archaeology – the archaeological contractor which had carried out the dig.
However, he added the research had been put on hold until the “developer has paid them for the field work undertaken”.
Cllr Strachan also said discussions between the developer – Places for People – and the contractor were being reviewed, reports Buckinghamshire Live.
He added that the analysis, research and archiving would cost around £78,000.
He said: "The county's archaeological team have held discussions with Historic England about the possibility of them funding the post-evacuation work through a grant but the responsibility for paying for this work does rest with the developer."
Cllr Strachan said the council was working to make sure information about the “important” find made it into the public domain.
Around the time of the find, historian Ed Grimsdale said he believed the bones were from the Anglo-Saxon period, which lasted from 410 to 1066.
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