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Bone collectors: Inside the creepy crypt of 1,000 skulls under a Northamptonshire church

The secrets of a creepy crypt holding more than 1,000 skulls and bones have been revealed. The 13th century crypt under the Holy Trinity Church in Rothwell, Northamptonshire, has been a source of great mystery and intrigue for villagers in the market town. The spooky collection is not the remains of soldiers or victims of the plague as it was once thought, but a place of memorial for superstitious pilgrims who wished to pray among the bones of their ancestors.

Some skulls are kept turned to the wall, their bones cracked and dirtied over the years. There used to be hundreds of bone crypts all over the UK but most were thought to be destroyed during the Reformation (REX/Geoffrey Robinson)

Rows of old skulls sit in the 13th century crypt beneath the Holy Trinity Church in Rothwell (REX/Geoffrey Robinson)

For years villagers believed the disassembled skeletons were victims of the plague or soldiers from the nearby battle of Naseby (REX/Geoffrey Robinson

Researchers have debunked the theory that the remains are of soldiers and victims of the plague - instead they say the creepy collection was a medieval monument for pilgrims and villagers to pray among the bones of their ancestors (REX/Geoffrey Robinson)

The Holy Trinity Church in Rothwell, Northamptonshire. The church has long held a spooky secret underneath its foundations (REX/Geoffrey Robinson)

The bone collection was discovered in 1700 after a grave digger fell through the church and landed inside the creepy crypt (REX/Geoffrey Robinson)

Researchers from the University of Sheffield's Department of Archaeology have found the reasons why the bones were gathered in the crypt (REX/Geoffrey Robinson)

Centuries old skulls are displayed in the crypt under a nondescript village church in Rothwell, Northamptonshire (REX/Geoffrey Robinson)