A SPECIAL church service has been arranged to mark the re-internment of almost 20 Anglo-Saxon skeletons that were unearthed during an archaeological dig.

In 2013, 13 graves containing the remains of at least 19 people were revealed when an investigation was carried out on the site for an extension to Kirkleatham Hall School, near Redcar.

The Northern Echo: SERVICE: The bodies will be re-interred in the grounds of St Cuthbert’s Church, Kirkleatham

The bodies will be re-interred in the grounds of St Cuthbert’s Church, Kirkleatham

The school, which was constructed in 1958 on the site of the 17th century Kirkleatham Hall, had been demolished in 2010 and a team of archaeologists were there to record any evidence of the Hall that might have survived below ground level.

Stewart Ramsdale, of Tees Heritage Trust, said: “Some of the hall’s foundations were uncovered, but on the last day of the dig an archaeologist spotted a human skull and several long bones lying within a sandy deposit. Closer examination revealed that they comprised the disarticulated remains of at least three individuals which had been placed into the fill of a drain associated with the Hall.

“Over the next few weeks several grave-cuts were identified cutting into the subsoil. All of the graves had been disturbed by the construction and subsequent demolition of Kirkleatham Hall.

“The minimum number of individuals was found to be 19. There were more adults than children and the material that survived was characteristic of rural communities, with individuals surviving to older middle age.”

Radiocarbon dating showed the people had lived around 700AD, in the Anglo-Saxon period after Christianity had spread to the North-East.

The site of the cemetery lies to the east of St Cuthbert’s Church, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.

The celebration of re-interment takes place at the church on Saturday, November 26 at 2.30pm and the Bishop of Whitby, the Right Reverend Paul Ferguson, will attend the service.