Emily Chan
Near a medieval royal palace, the remains of a lost church lay beneath the ground for centuries until it was unearthed by archaeologists.
They were found during excavations below a tennis court at Visegrád, a castle town in Hungary located north of the capital city of Budapest. The site is known for its medieval ruins.
The lost church was once part of a Franciscan monastery that was founded in A.D. 1425 by King Sigismund.
He became king of Hungary in 1387 but ruled over other European countries as well. In 1433, he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
The Holy Roman Empire was made up of the western, central, and southern regions of Europe. It lasted for 1,000 years until it fell during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806.
After the monastery at Visegrád was founded, the Church of the Virgin Mary was erected on a hilltop overlooking the Danube River.
Within the first couple of days of excavations, the church’s sanctuary and its high altar were discovered.
In front of the main altar, archaeologists came across a large crypt, which appeared to have been ransacked by thieves after the monastery was deserted.
Inside the crypt, the skeletons of three individuals were found, according to the National Archaeological Institute of Hungary.
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