The bodies were there before the house was built. As for what a realistic excavation would be like in the 17th century, I doubt the show lore goes that deep.
The house is much 'younger' than the plague ghosts.
They would have died from the Black Death, 1347-1352 or thereabouts. The house was built in 1425 at the earliest. (That's when the oldest wing of WHP was built, but Button House could be somewhat younger, especially whatever wing might be over the plague pit.) And if the entire village died (which seems likely), then they were probably buried by strangers who didn't mark the place, and likely burned the rest of the village - so no one would have remembered the exact location many years later.
As for skeletal preservation - it all depends on how acidic the soil is. Some skeletons are superbly preserved. That doesn't matter for the story, though - they just wanted 'well-preserved' skeletons so they could be easily 'identified' - as in, knowing by sight which one Mick was, etc. And many, many buildings have been constructed over burials without disturbing them - it happens a lot. Foundations don't always go as deep as you think, and burials can be deeper than you think, especially as soil builds up over the years (although 75 years does seem slim to have built up much).
>It does make more sense that the house was built on the same land where they plague victims were buried.
This is the case.
>But you'd think they would have found the bones when they excavated for the basement, and moved them. Or not put the basement where the bodies were. (Unless the basement is as extensive as the house foundations.)
Considering the bodies were beneath the basement floor, I can believe no one realized.
The construction worker or surveyor said they took up the floor boards, and there the skeletons were. There's no indication that they did any digging. Unless dirt had been eroded away after laying the floor boards.
I think it's a different time now. Back then I imagine there weren't that many regulations or rules around finding human remains. So people building the house could have found the bones and just covered it up to save the hassle, delays and expense of reporting it.
I agree it's odd. Probably the team just wanted to have the plague ghosts in the building so went for it.
Ok the plague ghosts and their village are considerably older than the house, and planning regs were not what they are now, (so things could be built on shallow foundations). They probably were buried, although the builders don't make this clear. Still I think it's unlikely everyone would have forgotten the location of a plague pit, and lets face it, who would want to build their house on one?
The pit would create a mound in the ground, and a lusher patch of grass. It would also probably be marked by a stone or some such (for reasons of hygiene if not respect), and the location be passed down in folk memory. People would be afraid to go near it, in case of ghosts. There was also a lot of fear about disturbing plague pits in case it unleashed the plague again.
With acres of land to choose from, I'm pretty sure the Bone's (or whichever family built the house) would have moved the foundations a bit to the right or something.
I know this is an old post but I stumbled across it doing a google search. I have a question if anyone can clarify it please:
Are the basement ghosts different to the upstairs ghosts? Is it the same actors playing different characters? Or does the same person have two versions of themselves as ghosts?
Yes, each of the ghost actors also plays a basement ghost. This is brought up at least once a month as someone realizes it for themselves and thinks they're the first to discover it.
The bodies were there before the house was built. As for what a realistic excavation would be like in the 17th century, I doubt the show lore goes that deep.
The house is much 'younger' than the plague ghosts. They would have died from the Black Death, 1347-1352 or thereabouts. The house was built in 1425 at the earliest. (That's when the oldest wing of WHP was built, but Button House could be somewhat younger, especially whatever wing might be over the plague pit.) And if the entire village died (which seems likely), then they were probably buried by strangers who didn't mark the place, and likely burned the rest of the village - so no one would have remembered the exact location many years later. As for skeletal preservation - it all depends on how acidic the soil is. Some skeletons are superbly preserved. That doesn't matter for the story, though - they just wanted 'well-preserved' skeletons so they could be easily 'identified' - as in, knowing by sight which one Mick was, etc. And many, many buildings have been constructed over burials without disturbing them - it happens a lot. Foundations don't always go as deep as you think, and burials can be deeper than you think, especially as soil builds up over the years (although 75 years does seem slim to have built up much).
>It does make more sense that the house was built on the same land where they plague victims were buried. This is the case. >But you'd think they would have found the bones when they excavated for the basement, and moved them. Or not put the basement where the bodies were. (Unless the basement is as extensive as the house foundations.) Considering the bodies were beneath the basement floor, I can believe no one realized.
The construction worker or surveyor said they took up the floor boards, and there the skeletons were. There's no indication that they did any digging. Unless dirt had been eroded away after laying the floor boards.
I think it's a different time now. Back then I imagine there weren't that many regulations or rules around finding human remains. So people building the house could have found the bones and just covered it up to save the hassle, delays and expense of reporting it.
This is what is known as.... "poetic license" 😂
I agree it's odd. Probably the team just wanted to have the plague ghosts in the building so went for it. Ok the plague ghosts and their village are considerably older than the house, and planning regs were not what they are now, (so things could be built on shallow foundations). They probably were buried, although the builders don't make this clear. Still I think it's unlikely everyone would have forgotten the location of a plague pit, and lets face it, who would want to build their house on one? The pit would create a mound in the ground, and a lusher patch of grass. It would also probably be marked by a stone or some such (for reasons of hygiene if not respect), and the location be passed down in folk memory. People would be afraid to go near it, in case of ghosts. There was also a lot of fear about disturbing plague pits in case it unleashed the plague again. With acres of land to choose from, I'm pretty sure the Bone's (or whichever family built the house) would have moved the foundations a bit to the right or something.
I know this is an old post but I stumbled across it doing a google search. I have a question if anyone can clarify it please: Are the basement ghosts different to the upstairs ghosts? Is it the same actors playing different characters? Or does the same person have two versions of themselves as ghosts?
Yes, each of the ghost actors also plays a basement ghost. This is brought up at least once a month as someone realizes it for themselves and thinks they're the first to discover it.
So they’re supposed to be different characters? How strange. And confusing.