"This archaeological site of national importance was uncovered at Partney, Lincolnshire, after being hidden for hundreds of years beneath the soil. Burial sites were revealed during the digging of an evaluation trench in a field next to the A158 road for the village bypass. Lincolnshire County Council contacted the archaeological field unit, whose work revealed remains of the Chapel of St Mary Magdalen - a Benedictine cell of Bardney Abbey - a cemetery containing 44 bodies, and a medieval hospital dating back to the 11th century. Excavations of the site which were carried out over six weeks, also uncovered evidence of a Romano-British farmstead and an early Iron Age enclosure.

The archaeological Site Manager said that there were only about 60 of such minor hospitals in the country, and this was the first to have been excavated. Some of the bodies had been buried with chalices of gold and silver and others with pewter, a symbolic metal signifying the deceased's status as a priest. Their bones will be interred at a later date, and the finds, including coins, clasps, and fragments of medieval pottery will be held for research at the City and County Museum, Lincoln. Once excavations are completed the site will be hidden again, to be covered over by the bypass."

The whole dig - https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/595903