Part of seventh skeleton discovered in city street
The £2.5m scheme will see changes made to Tombland. - Credit: Simon Parkin
Part of a seventh skeleton has been discovered during work on a multi-million pound revamp of a Norwich street.
The find follows the discovery of six skeletons during a £2.5m revamp of Tombland last month.
Workers initially discovered a skull and that led to archaeologists uncovering six skeletons on the street.
Part of a seventh skeleton was found in Tombland. - Credit: Simon Parkin
They were recorded and removed and work in the area then continued.
But Norfolk County Council has confirmed that a further partial skeleton was found close to Christmas.
The skeletons are all being stored by the council's archaeological team, who will clean them and establish a date for the finds.
A council spokesman said: “A further partial skeleton was uncovered in late December, in addition to the six originally reported on December 4.
"No further discoveries have been made since and all significant excavation work required for the project has now been completed.
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"As before, archaeologists were already present on-site when the remains were unearthed and were able to carefully remove them.
"The police were informed and construction was able to quickly resume.
"All skeletons are being stored by our archaeological team where they will be cleaned and dated prior to all findings being reported to the city council on completion of works in the area.”
Tombland was once the main market area of Norwich, before the Normans established a new market area by the castle.
Though its name may suggest a place where burials took place, Tombland actually comes from an Old English word, derived from Danish, meaning 'empty space'.
An artist's impression of what the revamp of Tombland will look like. Picture: Transport for Norwich - Credit: Transport for Norwich
But the scheme, funded with money from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund, has been criticised by the Norwich Cycling Campaign, who have said it will make matters worse for cyclists.
- Credit: Simon Parkin
The work also sparked controversy due to the chopping down of a number of trees, which had prompted hundreds to sign a petition urging the council to rethink the plans.
The second phase of the work in Tombland started in November and is due to come to an end in March.
