This Abandoned Medieval Village Holds a Grisly Secret

The village of Wharram Percy, on the western edge of the chalk wolds of North Yorkshire, is an archaeological treasure. It the best preserved medieval village in Britain and may hold a disturbing secret.
From the Series: Mystic Britain: The Revenants bitly.com/2N58h5N

[@mayazhussain]

The abandoned that town because they knew that in future Smithsonian Channel will make an incomplete video about them

[@GAMEOVER-yy6zj]

The first taste is free . . .

[@charlotteziggy8353]

Lol!

[@senyagwynn8095]

Hahaha...

[@alexandriao.7814]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@Yupppi]

"This website is not available to audiences outside of the U.S." Is my favourite clickbait.

[@Pigmentonic]

In case anyone was wondering what the "Grisly secret" was, the bones were found burned, smashed and cut in a way which indicates they were dismembered after death but before burial. The two predominant theories as to why are cannibalism or preventative measures to stop the bodies coming back as undead beings called revenants. Of these two explanations, most historians agree that revenants are the more likely answer.

[@VersatyleTV1]

If it was cannibalism. Do you think it was likely due to desperate measures and limited to no food supply?

[@LadyBirch]

Something is missing like a conclusion seems incomplete

[@TK-ij2xi]

See above comment

[@teslagirl1]

Every abandoned place like this, however remote and "out of the way" it is today was once the very center of someone's world.

[@josesal]

Smithsonian Channel If your not going to give us the total video, at least aim us in the direction where we can see it.

[@nagaviper1169]

Wait, I wasn't done watching.

[@katerynahrom9727]

Guys, Wiki says that the plague wasn't the reason why the village was abandoned. The population decreased during that time so the village wasn't profitable anymore. The Percy family exchanged the land with another family and the new owners evicted the villagers to make more pastures for sheep.

[@riverbankjohn]

Correct

[@okay_aaki143]

this is some cliffhanger

[@lenkovsky7662]

Lol!

[@noneofyourbeeswax01]

Doubtless the bones of such people as enraged the villagers by telling incomplete stories...

[@margo3367]

NoneOfYour Beeswax Amen.

[@anonUK]

Witchcraft!

[@terrendously]

Yes 😂

[@joekelly9369]

Smithsonian chanel freeview 56

[@cainandnikosadventures3786]

What's the grisly secret?

[@mentnomore]

It’s kept nicely

[@Metacognition88]

Smithsonian plus will tell you.

[@slee3155]

undead lich ... perhaps Acererak ... needed zombie parts

[@keeperofthegood]

no the grisly has rotted away, we are only left the bones

[@StuSaville]

A Grisly bear ate the people...

[@Vardaris]

To people who may be wondering what happened: Human bones excavated from a deserted medieval village in North Yorkshire show people mutilated and burnt bodies to stop them rising from the dead. Knife marks were found on 137 bones dating between the 11th and 14th Centuries, discovered at Wharram Percy. Experts said it was the first evidence of ancient practices to stop "corpses rising from their graves, spreading disease and assaulting the living". The study was conducted by Historic England and Southampton University. The village was abandoned when the land owner evicted the locals to turn the whole village into a sheep pasture site when cultivating crops was no longer as profitable compared to sheep. Source: BBC

[@Vardaris]

@@AlistairClark99 wow a comment after 3 years. Yes it was basically shut down. Everybody left almost at the same time and the land was turned in a place that only had sheep. The story of the place was largely forgotten and only recently the researchers try to revive the story based on the excavations and whatever records they can find.

[@Biggvs_dickvs]

There once was a... Pay me.

[@carterl369]

I’m no expert in the time period but I’m like 70% sure it’s a plague pit

[@AndyCutright]

Yep

[@joekelly9369]

@@AndyCutright a plague pit .the bodies were burnt .these were deliberately dismembered .

[@timpauwels3734]

The village was cleared in the 1500s by local lords who wanted more space for sheep pasture. This was an era when increased trade and a population decimated by repeated plagues had caused a merchant class in the cities to flourish, to which feudal lords who's wealth was in indentured serfs (of which many died) rather than of the monetary kind, could not keep up. In search of wealth, the aristocracy kicked the unprofitable peasants off the common land they lived on and enclosed it for sheep pasture, employing (this was a new concept!) only a small number to tend to the livestock. The king's army would have helped with the violence. Many who had lived self sufficient (albeit unfree and taxed) lives on common land were without homes or support. They either went to work for a landowner or went into debt to start their own business schemes. Capitalism was born. Countless people were kicked off the land in Scotland during the highland clearances, yet because this is in England, the same type of event is somehow "mysterious". You will find that most ancient hedges, walls, mounds and ditches that divide the European countryside are from the 1500s. This event is why the village is abandoned. As for the pit of skeletons - plague pit maybe? Or, given the knife marks, dead from a famine? Maybe they were executed for carrying out a peasant's revolt?

[@memonk11]

Thanks for nothing.

[@ladyalaina42]

10 people not buried in the churchyard is a grisley secret?

[@charlotteziggy8353]

Lol!

[@tinker.belle.501.]

To be honest, I think that some people who have been buried outside of The Graveyard near the church, were either Romans, people who died of The Black Plague, or Even Worse, they Could have been murdered; & then their corpses buried Away from The Church, that way, No One Else Would Ever have Any suspicions as to what happened to the ten corpses.

[@R.M.MacFru]

Burial on unconsecrated ground was usually for either suicides or women who died in childbirth. Of course, murdering travellers for money was sometimes a popular sport. 🤨

[@joekelly9369]

They were from the village

[@pignonMZ6]

Well that was underwhelming.

[@rickyspanish492]

Some mad clickbait Smithsonian

[@bigblue6917]

I have been there and if you are interested in the Medieval period, especially the archaeology of that times, it is an interesting place to go.

[@vernondias3920]

I fell for a click bait

[@jackbuckley7816]

The "grisly secret" in the caption simply is the grisly secret we'll never know what the grisly secret IS! Disappointing but a good cliffhanger nonetheless. My own sense is that the mysterious grave contained victims of one of the many plague-outbreaks of those far-off times.

[@aquillafleetwood8180]

Can't wait for the sequel!!!

[@USSResolute]

This was about as accurate and informative as the displays at Mayan sites in Belize, which, if not for the jungle sitting atop them, look exactly like Wharram Percy from the air, I imagine but from the terrain just look like mounds of rock. The Smithsonian Channel is about as useful with regard to what happened here as the Belize Tourism Bureau is about the 15 or so major Mayan sites they manage, all of which were also abandoned for no good reason since the people in Belize still live and farm right around them today. If you don't know what happened at Wharram or you don't want us to know, don't waste our time with videos. When you waste my time, you have essentially stolen 3.5 minutes of my life.

[@anitadavenport7209]

A million thank you's! I hate wasting time and learning nothing in the process 💯

[@Concetta20]

Wow. Tell us how you really feel.

[@jamesmann8196]

The bodies found apparently had bones with knife marks slashed into them to avoid the deceased person to "rise from the dead". Numerous body parts were also singed, and thus mutilated as well as decapitation being present. The village fell into decline during the chaos of the 'Black Death'. Hope that concludes the video for people.

[@benvasilinda9729]

The people in that medieval town died and were buried as mysteriously as this video ended.

[@mentnomore]

Nice!!

[@mentnomore]

Ninten, if you say I delete

[@TimTams_64]

so wheres the reset of the video?

[@vulcan4705]

0:00

[@skuets5708]

@@vulcan4705 yes

[@TheManWithTheWhiteHusky]

Are you going to upload another part to this video

[@Silkendrum]

Hey, Smithsonian, you have left me angry! You won't like me when I'm angry....

[@charlotteziggy8353]

Some of the comments below are entertaining...so got a little something out of it.

[@Super-chad]

Im so glad that these videos are short and comprehensive

[@mayazhussain]

Only thing that is abandoned here is this video by Smithsonian Channel

[@dkelban]

Grisly??? All tease and no substance

[@doylepro]

Legends has it that the village were haunted by the Auto Insurance Sales Agents which force them abandoning it.

[@GregoryTheGr8ster]

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this village is now horribly haunted. I would not go there even with a shotgun.

[@donnaemerson3313]

The link to the entire episode is in the drop down info.

[@luckyidiot9433]

Probably a plague? Or some kind of sickness

[@jacobblack2696]

Vampires!!!!!yeahhhhh I've got it!!!😎😎

[@65LB]

GREAT Teaser!

[@darrenfraser5132]

For you fellow Americans most villages in the meadevil period were left to crumble because of the black death that was in Europe. This lead villages to bury or burn the remains of the victims that died of the black death away from the villages. There are loads of these around the country side today.

[@michael245]

this is the only thing i hate about these videos is that their not long enough where can i watch the full video of this

[@vaibhavathalye7542]

Where can we get the entire series of Mystic Britain?

[@captainsixties9890]

My first thoughts are it’s a plague pit, but the others are correct that people back then did used to mutilate bodies to prevent them returning as vampires so it could be either one.

[@lawrencetaylor8064]

Footballers from a disappointing squad?

[@sarahkendle7564]

Most likely the burial was a plague pit, the village collapsed as its population shrank and not enough people survived to keep the settlement going hence the village was abandoned. In regards to the bodies the only other thing I could think of is possibly criminals who had been executed but I would have thought this would have been done in a town nearby and I think even criminals were given individual burials. Has anyone else got any better ideas because this has me hooked!

[@xCaptxCrunchx]

Maybe it was bodies used to practice autopsies since at the time it was frowned upon.

[@jgcelliott1]

Serial killer? Raid? Minor insurrection? Witch hunt? Come on, take a stab at it. .

[@estebannemo1957]

What an absolutely banal story.

[@jimmym9967]

I would guess if it was medieval this would be people that died of the Black Death, and the villagers wanted the cadavers away from the town

[@WobblesandBean]

Ok, but...why

[@JinrohDFLL]

as always you can count on a Smithsonian video not telling you what the title says.

[@jry.....why.1605]

I HATE when the story is hanging,with no answers??,..I just started to get my mood.😏😏😒😒

[@ted.angell7609]

It’s always brighter here 🤩

[@kervinashong4414]

OH DEAR GOD!!!! they are just going to leave us hanging?????

[@no_name1549]

I want to see more plane videos

[@prestonak]

This is a cable tv channel, they don't give episodes for free guys

[@drgaganvelayudhan1733]

Were these people murdered?

[@marysunshine4730]

R RQ amazing! Have you been there?

[@bandicoot5412]

It's cool to see the same view they had, with no Advil.

[@nesa1126]

Maybe they died of plague? Maybe that is why village is abandoned? In my hometown during plague they buried bodies out of town. But town grown during 20th century. Anyway, once there was a project to dig a channel and they found mass grave.

[@TheDizzleHawke]

This is Clive Anderson saying goodnight. “Goodnight.”

[@MrNightpwner]

How is Britain an island, so old, and has a bunch of abandoned land?

[@jayveeaurea9091]

Sinful deaths like suicide weren’t buried in the church yard known to them as “sacred land”.

[@DraRed73]

Ten people buried in a pit...Soooo grizzly

[@rustyshackleford2627]

When was the church built ?!

[@htos1av]

Ahh man, now I wanna see all of it!

[@xSUBIACOx]

Ah, right, er, erm, yes, er, hmmm, er, and?

[@aquillafleetwood8180]

News Alert! ...no news...

[@swivelhips586]

Vikings in the late 900's sailed through a worm hole-portal and arrived in the 1500's? I knew it!

[@BradiKal61]

Will future archeologists discover the lost point of this video?

[@Alex462047]

Well, go on and tell us why these people were buried outside the churchyard. Were they suicides? Were they executed? Why were they buried like that?

[@eduardleon5409]

It’s obvious they left because of brexit.

[@isabellelaval7294]

We here in France wish them the best of luck but respectfully request them to keep Boris to themselves. 😊

[@davidwood9966]

1:57 That zip is AWESOME.

[@lizardwrangle]

That's it? No reason given why the village was abandoned?

[@termeownator]

We're they suicides or something? Or heretics or blasphemers?

[@Chew1964]

Yes, suicides and heretics were buried in unhallowed ground.

[@rudra62]

Those hung for witchcraft?

[@mikehunt3852]

Surprised you can afford to keep going Smithy - remind us how many millions of dollars the yanks fined you for destroying those 15 foot skeletons again ? 😋

[@garethanthonyclark4879]

Hits man on back of head with spade

[@SamtheMan0508]

Before I saw the "village", I thought it would be an interesting place to visit.

[@marysunshine4730]

Michele Pohl It is 19 miles North of York. I would love to catch the vibes.

[@Chew1964]

Suicides and heretics were buried in unhallowed ground.

[@BradiKal61]

It must have something to do with David S Pumpkin

[@wormswithteeth]

They left becasue they were getting constantly spam for time shares.

[@privateer177666]

And now you know NOT the rest of the story.....

[@olbradley]

My guess is sweating plague. Also in what universe is 1520 considered medieval? The Renaissance era started when Constantinople fell to the Turks and is generally used as the end date of the Medieval period and the beginning of the Renaissance.

[@tamaracarter1836]

The village was built long before 1520 (the layout is largely 10th-12th century and the church is mostly 12th-14th century), 1520 is just when everyone left. Remember this is one of England’s “abandoned” medieval villages (of which there are over 3000).

[@theastronomer5800]

How is that grisly or disturbing?

[@seanhaarhoff3726]

Where's the end?

[@elikemlarnyoh5642]

The place doesn’t look abandoned at all Well trimmed grasses, well cut out roads, buildings in good shape though old; and you say it’s abandoned. You should come again

[@FootballClubDavid_WI_USA]

Check the description for the entire show @t

[@porkyfedwell]

Here's the solution to these incomplete videos: Click on the three dots next to a video on your news feed by the Smithsonian channel, then pull down the menu, and choose "don't recommend channel" Problem solved!

[@mrs.g.9816]

I wish I could see more of this video. No cable - so I can't watch the Smithsonian channel.

[@isabellelaval7294]

If you're going to post another video with a come-on sub title and not much else please abstain.

[@andrewgodly5739]

Could've been for anything. Perhaps they were too poor to be buried in the graveyard or they were plague victims that were burned in a pit together. Could've even been where they buried non-Christians or for one of the other thousand possibilities

[@boredgrass]

Clickbait from the Smithsonian. That's how You operate? Really?

[@BornAgainCynic0086]

Site of medieval 1st attempt to land an airliner?

[@CJ-hj3co]

he spelled Grizzly WRONG!

[@ravensage1756]

Sounds like they had serial killers in medieval times to

[@bruceschneider4928]

Sounds like Wharram Percy was plagued with disease.

[@joekelly9369]

Brilliant , but folklore and fears spread like wildfire , litterally stoked by fear and self preservation , so this isnt an isolated incident , further south the welsh borders would sacrifice the weakest maybe mentally ill of the village to apease the gods of the crops , after a few failed harvests it seems a common thing of the time , the harvest festival originates from a darker period ,

[@billyrock8305]

Spooky!! 👻 Witches!

[@Calum...]

Shut up Billy

[@colt0110]

This video gave me blue balls...

[@pablojose4890]

What was the point of this video?

[@anon7219]

uhm, that was it?

[@wicrosoft8091]

a bit lackluster but oh well