Dozens of medieval skeletons found in the heart of Aberdeen this summer could receive a Christian burial.
Shocked workmen uncovered 30 skeletons while digging a trench to pave the way for the installation of a new boiler at the Robert Gordon’s College site on Schoolhill in July.
The bones were found just two feet below street level.
It is believed the skeletons are those of people laid to rest on the site of the former Blackfriars Abbey during the 13th century.
The Dominican abbey was founded between 1230 and 1249, purportedly by Alexander II, but was destroyed by protestant reformers in 1560.
Now the Roman Catholic Bishop of Aberdeen, Hugh Gilbert, has confirmed the church has been in talks with council figures about a possibly reburying of the remains in scared ground.
The people living at that time in Aberdeen would have been of the Catholic faith with Blackfriars an especially scared city site.
An informal approach has been made to council archaeologist Bruce Mann for the service which has been described as a “kind offer”.
Bishop Gilbert said: “The RC Diocese of Aberdeen has followed the story of the discovery of these remains with interest, and has offered to help the City Council to find suitable ways of processing the reburial. We are at an early stage but we are here to assist in any way we can.”
The skeletons are currently undergoing radiocarbon dating to determine their exact age with a tell-all report expected in the new year.
But pottery and other relics have been found at the site dating to the late 13th century in what was hailed at the time as an “exciting discovery”.
The remains could be reburied after the report has been released.
Mr Mann, an archaeologist from Aberdeenshire Council who also works with the city council, said: “The skeletons are currently being examined by a specialist with a report due in February next year.
“It is then the intention to rebury the skeletons, and I have been in discussions with the Catholic Church following a kind offer by them to assist in this matter.”