Mystery surrounds 800-year-old Leicester burial pit containing 123 bodies

Archaeologists excavate a 12th-century mass burial site at Leicester Cathedral. Photograph: Mathew Morris / ULAS

In gardens a few metres from Leicester Cathedral, archaeologists have made a disturbing discovery. Their excavations have revealed a narrow vertical shaft filled with the remains of 123 men, women and children.

It is one of the largest pit burials ever excavated in the UK, with subsequent research suggesting the bodies were dumped there more than 800 years ago, early in the 12th century.