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Children's skeletons in Oberbüren, Switzerland: Parents even traveled from Dortmund
Photo: Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern
It was probably already dark when a stranger entered the churchyard in Eggolsheim in Upper Franconia.
He crept up to the church, dug a hole, and put the dead child he was carrying in it.
It is quite possible that the person said one last prayer before disappearing into the night.
The child, whose remains were unearthed a few weeks ago by archaeologists from the Bamberg excavation company In Terra Veritas, was probably illegally buried sometime in the 15th century, perhaps by his father.
The baby had been born between the 33rd and 36th week of pregnancy and may not have developed enough to survive the birth.
What is certain is that the premature baby was unbaptized when it took its last breath.
This is indicated by the place where it was buried: close to the church wall, directly under the eaves.
There it should probably get one last chance to get to heaven after all.
Until modern times, some Christians believed that unbaptized people did not come to God after their death, but had to remain forever in the kingdom of the devil.
According to this idea, the same rules applied to stillborn babies or other unbaptized infants, at least at burial, as to murderers, robbers and other criminals.
Because they were tainted with original sin, they could not be buried in the consecrated earth of a cemetery, even if relatives of theirs were already resting there.
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