Wessex Archaeology is pleased to announce our first project working with Associate Consultant Angela Boyle. Angela is a specialist on post-medieval cemetery excavation and has worked as a professional archaeologist and osteologist for more than 25 years across the UK. Working with Wessex Archaeology’s Burial and Church Archaeology team, Angela is analysing the skeletons of over 100 Non-Conformists buried at the Square Chapel, Halifax in the 19th century. The western limits of the Square Chapel churchyard were excavated by Wessex Archaeology in the autumn of 2015, in advance of the Cornerstone Project, the refurbishment and extension of the Square Chapel Arts Centre.
Angela’s analysis is in the early stages but has already revealed interesting information about the health of the people buried in the churchyard. Angela has already identified evidence for osteoarthritis, spinal degeneration and dental disease amongst the skeletons from the chapel.
The work was carried out through Kier and Evans Vettori on behalf of the Square Chapel. The skeletal remains will be reinterred on site later this year after full osteological analysis. Angela will provide regular web updates as the work continues.
