Historian Edward Spencer Diaz said he made the Da Vinci Code-style reveal at St. Mary’s Church in the west Birmingham village of Enville, according to the Daily Mail. According to him, the graves can be identified as belonging to the Knights Templar due to the clan symbols on the tombstones.
Diaz first discovered three 800-year-old medieval tombs belonging to members of the ancient order in a cemetery in 2021, and has now discovered five more tombs. He believes that the medieval building in this small cemetery may be the most nationally important Templar church in the country. St Mary’s Church on the outskirts of the Black Country was built in the early 12th century when the Templars were establishing monasteries across Britain. Each tomb discovered bears a Templar cross in double circles in a standard Templar design. According to him, the church was “under the patronage of the Templars” and was built thanks to their financing.
The Knights Templar were a powerful and wealthy military organization that provided security and protection for pilgrims in the Holy Land in the 12th century. They were founded around 1119 AD. C., two decades after the crusaders liberated the holy city of Jerusalem from Muslim control, but were disbanded by the Pope in 1312 after being falsely accused of heresy. In January 1308, King Edward II of England ordered the arrest of all Templars in England as a result of these false accusations and an inventory of all their property. He then appointed officials to manage the property and send all the proceeds to his treasury.
Tony McMahon, a historian, writer, and Templar expert, called it a “great find” because there aren’t many known Templar tombs in the world. According to him, the presence of tombs remained unknown for about 500 years.
“It seems that these tombs were recorded in the 16th century and then forgotten,” he added.
St Mary’s may have been one of hundreds of Templar churches in England, McMahon said, adding that members of the order were buried with holy regalia on their tombstones.
“Some of them may have been at the fighting in Jerusalem and Acre fighting the Saracens, while others may not have lived to see it, succumbing to diseases like the plague,” he explained.
The historian said the Templars were a “great clan” in England and other parts of Europe, but their initiation rites and ceremonies were shrouded in mystery and scandal.
The Crusades were a series of religious wars between 1095 and 1291 in which armed Christians attempted to take over the Middle East. The first such campaign (1096-1102) was launched by Pope Urban II to help the Christian Byzantine Empire, which was attacked by Muslim Seljuk Turks. The Crusades set the stage for several religious chivalric military orders, including the Knights Templar, the Teutonic Knights, and the Hospitallers. England was of great importance to the Templars: their English headquarters was in what is now the London Borough of Holborn.
