St Bees Man: he would not rot

Today is the feast day of Saint Bees, or Bega, and a tale is attached to one of the English churches named for this saint, who is said to have been a member of the Irish royalty in the 7th Century.

In 1981 archaeologists discovered beneath an aisle on the south side of the chancel of St Bees Priory (pictured), one of the best preserved medieval human bodies ever found, and his shroud is on display.

He is known as ‘St Bees Man‘ and he lay for hundreds of years without rotting, wrapped in thick shrouds over which a wax and honey preparation had been poured, then wrapped with a sheet of lead, packed with clay and placed in a wooden coffin. He was a man aged about 40, and buried sometime between 1290 and 1500. He had died a violent death, but whether it was in battle or perhaps in a tournament of some sort is not known ...

Tagged: archaeology, saints, uk