ETERNAL LOVE: Skeletal couple found 'holding hands' for 700 years

A couple from the 14th century seems to have gone a step beyond "till death do us part."

Two skeletons, a man and a woman, were found in a grave together with their arms crossed at the excavation site for the Chapel of St. Morrell near Hallaton, England. The apparent couple were discovered by archaeologists with the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, along with volunteers. The 4-year excavation has also uncovered nine other skeletons, parts of the church and silver pennies from the 12-16th centuries.

The project's manager, Vicki Score, said that it is not uncommon for Leicester excavators to find couples buried together in a single grave. What is curious about these skeletons, though, is that they were not buried at the main church in Hallaton.

"The main question we find ourselves asking is why were they buried up there?" Score said in a press release. "This leads us to wonder if the chapel could have served as some sort of special place of burial at the time."

The place of burial could have been special because it was part of a pilgrimage, or the couple could have been denied burial in the Hallaton church because they were sick, foreigners or criminals.

No matter the couple's mortal fate, it seems their love story has stood the test of time.