Posted on 03/12/2020 3:28:56 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The bones were found more than a century ago, in the Church of St. Mary and St. Eanswythe in Folkestone, a port town in southeastern England, representatives of the Diocese of Canterbury said in a statement released on March 6. Though people immediately suspected that the bones came from the young saint, the remains were never thoroughly analyzed until now.
After extensive testing, archaeologists and historians have announced that the bones were indeed St. Eanswythe's, and are England's earliest verified remains of a saint. The bones were likely hidden away to protect them from destruction during the Protestant Reformation, according to the statement.
Workers discovered the bones in 1885 while removing plaster from a niche in the Folkestone church's northern wall, The New York Times reported on Aug. 9 that year.
"Taking away a layer of rubble and broken tiles, a cavity was discovered, and in this [was found] a broken and corroded leaden casket, oval shaped, about 18 inches [46 centimeters] long and 12 inches [31 cm] broad, the sides being about 10 inches [25 cm] high," according to The Times.
For the recent evaluation of the bones, which, due to their religious significance, could not be removed, researchers set up a lab in the church — even sleeping there overnight when necessary, Richardson said.
The scientists determined that the remains belonged to a young woman and the bones showed no signs of malnutrition. Radiocarbon dating of tooth and bone samples revealed that the woman died in the mid-seventh century, while multiple historic records from the 10th century through the 16th century mentioned Folkestone as the resting place for Eanswythe's remains, Richardson said.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Wow!
It looks just like Steve!
Especially the brown parts.
Thanks BenLurkin.
Am I to understand that they were thoughtful enough to store some of his DNA away so that his identity could be verified one the technology became available?
Her DNA.
She was the daughter of an Anglo-Saxon King of Kent. She refused a marriage to a pagan prince and founded the first nunnery in England.
According to Wiki, Eadbald, her father, was the first Anglo-Saxon King to convert to Christianity. This seems almost certainly false, however, as Ethelbert, Eadbald's father and also King of Kent, was the first Christian convert. Eadbald seems to have had an on and off relationship with Christianity.
This is a very frustrating time in English history as sources are few and it is very difficult to trace the Anglo-Saxon migrations and how they interacted with the Britons. Plus, there are several legends that may or may not be true.
Based upon qualifications for sainthood,
https://focusoncampus.org/content/how-does-someone-become-a-saint-a-5-step-process
I would have expected to see a more thorough accounting by Wikipedia of how and upon what bases she was sanctified. Bones of a young woman, 17-21.... what happened to her?
Hmm, here’s more, but not much:
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2019/08/31/102446-saint-eanswythe-abbess-of-folkestone
As long as the bones aren’t many thousands of years old, or boiled the heck out of like John Merrick’s, I understand DNA is pretty available from bone marrow.
No. Of course not!
They used her dental x-rays.
Finding Anglo Saxon human remains is a very rare event. Finding a body with a name is beyond rare. A few years ago, an Anglo Saxon King burial was discovered, but the body had been destroyed by the acidic soil. A name was suggested, but I think that they ended up with three candidates, a father and two of their sons. Without a body, a positive id was tough.
Yes, but from where to the reference records originate? Is there a little bottle in the Vatican stored away and appropriately labeled should some bone under a church come along?
They used her dental x-rays.
But wait -- if they don't know who *she* is, HTH do they know who her *dentist* is?
[this space intentionally left blank for the rimshot]
Ben-cam...
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