Secrets of the Anglo-Saxon bone chests
Cat Jarman tells the amazing story of the bone chests said to contain venerated remains of the early kings of Wessex and England
Held in Winchester Cathedral are several ornate chests, said to contain the venerated bones of early kings of Wessex and England, dating from the seventh to the 12th centuries. But what can these boxes reveal about attitudes to death and the politics in the Anglo-Saxon period? Cat Jarman explains all to David Musgrove.
Cat Jarman is the author of The Bone Chests: Unlocking the secrets of the Anglo-Saxons (William Collins, 2023)
Authors
David Musgrove is content director of the HistoryExtra.com website and podcast, plus its sister print magazines BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed. He has a PhD in medieval landscape archaeology and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
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