THE fate of the remains of some of the hundreds of Scottish prisoners who died as captives in Durham will be discussed tomorrow (Monday February 1).

Researchers have confirmed that 28 skeletons excavated during construction work on a new café at Palace Green Library in Durham, were the remains of Scottish soldiers, taken captive and brought to the city after the Battle of Dunbar, in September 1650.

Following the victory by Oliver Cromwell’s parliamentary forces, 4,000 of the defeated Scottish covenanters’ army, including overseas mercenaries, were marched south to be imprisoned in Durham Cathedral and in the nearby castle.

But, up to 1,700 of the prisoners died either on route or during their captivity, through malnutrition and disease.

Following an initial meeting on the Scottish Soldiers’ Archaeology Project, held in Dunbar, in November, tomorrow’s event is being staged to allow the North-East public to hear more about developments, in the Great Hall at Durham Castle.

Members of Durham University’s archaeology team will be joined by Canon Rosalind Brown, of Durham Cathedral, presenting their findings and asking for feedback on plans for follow-up research, as well as reburial and commemoration issues arising from their inadvertent excavation.

Professor Chris Gerrard, head of the university’s archaeology department, led the research team.

He said: “Dunbar is where this story began, almost 400 years ago.

“There has been such a great expression of interest in our project from the locality that we chose to hold our first event there.

“We received a wonderful welcome and we appreciated being able to hear, at first hand, the views of a range of people on the next steps for the Scottish soldiers.

“Now we want to give people in Durham and the North-East an opportunity to hear more about something which is part of their history and heritage, and to have a say on what happens next.

“Durham Castle is a fitting location for our second public event as, along with the cathedral, it was a prison for the Scottish soldiers who were marched to the city after the Battle of Dunbar.

“The individuals we found were buried in what would have been, in the mid-17th Century, the bottom of the castle garden.”

The university team has also held meetings with various bodies and organisations considering to have a special interest in the project and will consider all views before making its decisions later this year.

As a condition of the exhumation licence, issued by the Ministry of Justice, all the bodies will eventually have to be reburied.

Due to space limitations, attendance at the meeting (8pm-start) will be on a first come, first served basis.