Church renovation: Five buried have been found under the floor

- We are looking for traces of the old medieval church that we do not really know where it was.

Of course it was in the cemetery.

But the idea is that we will find traces of it in the current church, says Rikard Hedvall archaeologist at the county administrative board in Kalmar.

Coins and graves

Hallingeberg's current church was built in 1760. After, among other things, moisture damage, the floor will now be replaced.

In connection with this, the county administrative board has commissioned archaeologists to carry out a simpler excavation of the church room.

- We find few finds from the old building, but on the other hand we find a lot of coins and tombs with skeletons that show that the medieval church was in this place.

We have found five individuals so far, says Rikard

The elite rotted under the floors

Being buried inside the church was very nice.

In the 14th century, people then decided to charge well for these places.

At the beginning of the 19th century, burial sites in churches were banned.

- It was probably not as pleasant with the corpses as lying and rotting under the floor and the stench from the elite who were buried there.

Who were the people buried inside the churches?

- The finer people, noble families and priests of course.

You could pay for it, but anyone could not afford it, says archaeologist Rickard Hedvall.

The excavations and search for finds are scheduled to end next week.

The renovation of Hallingeberg's church will be completed in November 2022 when a rededication is planned.