A macabre discovery was made by archaeologists in Ghent, Belgium, when they dug up walls made of human remains while excavating the grounds of Saint Bavo’s Cathedral, Live Science reports.
The archaeological team ended up unearthing nine walls made of adult shin bones and thighs, with "the intermediate zones" being filled with skulls.
As the excavation project leader Janiek De Gryse explained to the media outlet in an email, the structures were likely built by people who "cleared out an old graveyard to make room either for new bodies or a church renovation".
"When clearing a churchyard, the skeletons cannot just be thrown away. Given that the faithful believe in a resurrection of the body, the bones were considered the most important part", de Gryse wrote.
While the bones themselves reportedly date back to the second half of the 15th century, as radiocarbon dating suggests, the walls were apparently constructed sometime in the 17th or possibly in early 19th centuries, the archaeologist remarked.
De Gryse also noted they’ve never previously encountered such structures, “like walls, which are intentionally built with human bones," in Belgium.
The team’s findings also reveal that the walls only contain "bones from the lower limbs", with de Gryse noting that researchers now ponder on whether it’s "only a practical thing" or is there perhaps some kind of "religious/spiritual dimension" to it.
The bones were have been moved to the University of Ghent where they will be examined in detail, the archaeologist added.