Thousands of graves spanning over centuries have been found during the excavation of an area in Bristol

There’s been a grim discovery in the Stapleton area of Bristol.

Cotswold Archaeology carried out a dig at a site in the British southwest from 2018 to 2023, with the location needing to be dug up by experts before undergoing a planned redevelopment, and an official report has now come up.

It was last known as Blackberry Hill Hospital, but prior to that, it was known as Stapleton Prison, and as you’d imagine, there’s a lot of history behind it.

Stapleton Workhouse was first developed in the late 1700s, when Stapleton Prison was still around, and it would house prisoners of war from Britain’s several conflicts with other European nations and the US.

But then, in 1832, a cholera outbreak forced the site’s transformation into a hospital, as it also had a favourable location on the edge of the city, before temporarily becoming a workhouse five years later.

It later reverted back to a hospital, which closed in 2007.

During its time as a workhouse, poorer members of society that were destitute or sick were sent there, with many dying there and being buried in unmarked graves.

Upon digging over the past few years, archaeologists discovered these mass graves, and were shocked by their findings.

Over 100 years later, Cotswold Archaeology have officially uncovered thousands of graves, Rosanna Price, Cotswold Archaeology’s engagement manager told Bristol Live.