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I worked on an 18th century burial site which was unconsecrated as far as the Church was concerned, mostly consisting of suicides and unbaptised babies, after the skeletons were removed we were told they would be sent to Belgium for analysis. They were incinerated there as it was considered too costly to re inter them, a profoundly depressing experience.

I totally understand how you felt Bluebeard. About 20 years ago I was working doing up a lovely old thatched cottage near Winchester. A digger driver was called in to level an area to the rear of the cottage where we were to build on a kitchen extension. It was a Bobcat digger and he went straight in with this bulldozer type blade on the front. This headstone shot up out of the ground like in a horror movie as he piled into this slate sided burial chamber completely destroying what was left of the skeleton inside. I'll always remember it as the driver jumped out of the cab, took one look and fled never to be seen again. We called in the clergyman from the small chapel across the lane and he just said, 'Don't say anything as they will stop you building. Just remove the remains, put them in a sack and bury them in another part of the garden and I'll come along and say a little prayer later'. Just like that. No feeling no nothing, while all the boys on site felt wretched!