Mysterious Medieval grave on channel island puzzles archaeologists

Archaeologists excavating a historic religious retreat have found the grave of a medieval porpoise.

The unusual discovery, was made after three weeks digging on the small island of Chapelle Dom Hue off the coast of Guernsey. , 

The team found evidence of a grave due to a change in the soil and unearthed a skull and other skeletal remains, but were left puzzled when it became clear they were not human.

Quite why the porpoise was buried so carefully on the island, which is thought to have been used by monks seeking refuge, is a mystery.

Dr Philip de Jersey, a research associate at Oxford University who works at Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery, said he estimates that the skeleton, which was the first organic matter found on the dig, dated from the 13th or 14th century.

He said it was the most unusual find in his 35-year career. "It's very peculiar, I don't know what to make of it," archaeologist Philip de Jersey from Oxford University in the UK told The Guardian.

Dr Phil De Jersey, right, and Mike Deane alongside the skeleton of a medieval porpoise.

The mystery is all the greater due to the way the animal was buried, which doesn't suggest the dead porpoise was simply disposed of underground.

Instead, it looks like it's been laid to rest, with the body aligned east to west per Christian tradition, and the careful digging of the grave itself suggests it was intended as a solemn resting place.

It's possible that the porpoise was killed for food, since these mammals were eaten in medieval times.

But if that's the case, the researchers say it would have made a lot more sense for people to have disposed of the remains in the sea – located just 10 metres from the site, and the small island is surrounded by water on all sides.

Dr de Jersey added: 'If we were in a church and we found something like this, based on the shape, we would think it was a grave cut.

'That is what puzzles me. 'If they had eaten it or killed it for the blubber, why take the trouble to bury it?'

Dr de Jersey said it appears as if the animal had been buried with care, unlike a donkey skeleton they found which had been dumped in a hole after it died. Dr de Jersey added: 'It was cut down from the medieval layer and we have found medieval pottery in the same film.'

After their discovery, the porpoise bones were removed from their resting place, and will now be studied by a marine expert.

Once that analysis is complete, maybe then we'll get some answers on just how and why this medieval porpoise came to be laid to rest in a monk's graveyard.

Location of Chapelle dom Hue