The Dead Virgins (The India Sommers Mysteries Book 1) by K. M. Ashman

Author:K. M. Ashman [Ashman, K. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Silverback Books
Published: 2013-12-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

England 2010

Brandon and India sat at the back of the church, waiting for the service to end. It was a typical village church and the c, bearing in mind the apathy to religion that seemed to be the norm across the country. Finally, the service came to an end and the people filed out, dropping their donations onto a copper plate as they left. Eventually there were just the two of them and the vicar left.

‘Hello,’ said the vicar, ‘I don’t think I have seen you here before. Are you new to the village?’

‘No, not really,’ said India, ‘what I mean is, we don’t actually live here, we were looking to speak to you, if you have the time.’

‘What about?’ asked the vicar.

‘I am India and this is Brandon,’ she said, ‘we are writing a book about village history of middle England and were told you may be able to help in our research.’

‘In what way?’

‘We are interested in the temple at Weycock hill. I believe it was built in the first century and some of the stones were used in the building of this church. Is that correct?’

‘Indeed it is,’ said the vicar, ‘some of the masonry can be seen in the lower courses of the church walls.’

‘How old is the church?’ asked Brandon.

‘Built in 1672,’ said the vicar, ‘though there was a place of worship here hundreds of years before that in many different guises.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Brandon.

‘Oh, the village stretches back thousands of years,’ said the vicar, ‘the remains of a stone age fort have been found nearby, it has been dominated by Romans, raided by Vikings and supplied no end of archers during the Norman conquest.’

‘Is there anything you can tell me about the temple?’ asked India.

‘Not much to tell. Experts reckon it was built in the first century AD, though that’s a bit special in itself, really as there are no others from that era. Many were built in the few hundred years after that but it was thought the area was still too volatile at the time for a standalone temple outside of any defended town. Yet it seems it was still there a few hundred years later, until the Romans left.’

‘How do you know?’ asked Brandon.

‘There was a stone coffin found in one of the excavations with the inscription 474 AD inscribed on the lid. It was obviously the burial of someone important as it was within the boundary of the temple but in order to be buried there, it must have been still standing at that time.’

‘But how did it last so long?’ asked India.

‘Who knows?’ said the vicar, ‘but the Romans weren’t always tyrants to the locals and by then, the population had probably become Romanised anyway. They probably even worshiped at the temple themselves.’

‘Who would have been the gods at that time?’ asked Brandon.

‘Some people say the whole Pantheon would have been worshiped there?’ said the vicar, ‘but the locals insist it is a Vestal temple. An early one, I agree, yet a Vestal temple nonetheless.

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