SKELETONS could help archaeologists reveal more of Bicester’s past.

Builders midway through constructing the John Paul II Centre found the bones under a car park area at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the Causeway last year.

Three of the skeletons were brought back to the church this week for local people to view. Bones of 12 skeletons were found, but archaeologists confirmed only eight were full skeletons. Experts also believe the initial dating of the skeletons — from Anglo-Saxon times — may be wrong, and are waiting for confirmation they date from the 11th or 12th centuries.

All but one were female, and most were aged 45 or older. Some had arthritis in their spines and they all had poor teeth. It has not yet been established how they died but archaelogists hope to find out more about their diet, and where they were from.

Steve Ford, director of Thames Valley Archaeological Services, said: “With tests we can see where that person grew up, which is probably where that person came from.”