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Archaeologists have been left with more questions than answers after unearthing a rare medieval cemetery near Cardiff.
Researchers have been slowly excavating the 70 tombs dug into the bedrock over the past two summers.
But the 18 tombs excavated so far on the grounds of Fonmon Castle have revealed strange burial positions.
Some skeletons appear to have been buried on their sides, while others were found crouching with their knees bent.
Dr Andy Seaman, an archaeologist at Cardiff University who is leading the excavation, told MailOnline his team has “barely scratched the surface of the site”.
Researchers have been slowly excavating the 70 tombs dug into the bedrock over the past two summers.
However, researchers have discovered what appears to be an unusual variation in funeral rites at the cemetery.
Fonmon Castle was built in the 12th century, but the cemetery is believed to be up to 600 years older.
Although Fonmon Castle was built in 1180, the cemetery is believed to date back to the 6th or 7th century.
Finding a large tomb from this period is already a spectacular find, but the treatment of the bodies makes the discovery even more mysterious.
Dr Seaman told MailOnline that crouching burials from this earlier period have been found, but only in extremely small numbers.
He said: ‘There is much greater variability within the funeral rite than we would expect.
‘For example, in a cemetery from the same period in Somerset there are 400 burials and two of them are crouched.
“So far we have dug 18 and four of our people are crouched.”
One of the crouching burials is even more unusual as it was placed within the ditch surrounding the cemetery with a “large amount of stone” placed on top.
“It’s clear that some people are being singled out as different in some way,” Dr. Seaman said.
More analysis will be needed to determine exactly what this symbolizes, but other discoveries may offer some valuable clues.
Archaeologists are particularly interested in fragments of fine Bordeaux glass and ceramics that may have come from as far away as North Africa.
This suggests that the people buried in the cemetery had a high status within society and that the site itself was significant.
“We tend to think of western Britain as the Celtic fringe, but it is nothing more than a full part of the wider post-Roman world,” Dr Seaman said.
“The presence of important ceramics and glass suggests an activity of some status and importance.”
Dr Seaman told MailOnline he believes they will soon uncover evidence that the site was even more important than previously thought.
Skeletons from this period are usually found lying on their backs as shown here, but in this cemetery some have been placed on their sides.
Four of the 18 skeletons excavated so far have even been found crouching, which is extremely unusual.
He said: ‘The cemetery is surrounded by a series of ditches which may well suggest that something else is going on here.
‘This is already evident from the animal bones and the evidence that feasting, eating and drinking were held there.
“But it is feasible that, as we excavate, we will find evidence of a church or even a monastic site.”
Even without additional discoveries, there is also much that can be learned from the bones themselves.
Although the skeletons are around 1,500 years old, they are preserved in surprisingly good condition.
Typically, the acidic soils of western Britain rapidly deteriorated bones, explains Dr Seaman.
Fortunately, this site lies within the Vale of Glamorgan, where the limestone-rich soil has left the bones well preserved.
There is currently no explanation as to why some people were selected for unusual funeral rites, but the team is looking for more evidence.
By looking at bone evidence, archaeologists have determined that people here were buried in family groups.
Summer Courts, an osteoarchaeologist at the University of Reading who worked on the excavation, told MailOnline that the bones are in excellent condition.
“We can learn incredible amounts of information from people’s remains,” he said.
‘Once individuals have been fully examined, we will be able to build a biological profile, including their age, sex and health status.
“We can already say that the inhabitants of Fonmon were workers, they are robust individuals who probably had good musculature in life, and some may have been using their teeth as tools to create artisanal products.”
The team is also hoping to use chemical analysis to discover more about the lives of the people in the cemetery.
Archaeologists have discovered several unusual burials in a rare medieval cemetery in the grounds of Fonmon Castle, near Cardiff.
The skeletons are so well preserved that researchers hope to use DNA analysis to discover family relationships between people buried at the site.
Researchers plan to use “stable isotope analysis,” which looks for traces of chemicals that a person’s diet leaves in their bones, to determine whether they had traveled or migrated.
Mrs Courts said: “We suspect the cemetery was organized by family groups as we have skeletons that are buried close together and share some variations in bone shape which can be passed on genetically.”
“We also have children mixed in with the adults, again suggesting family groups.”
If the bones are especially well preserved, researchers will also be able to take samples to analyze ancient DNA.
This would allow researchers to trace family lineages, marriages and relationships within this ancient community.