Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-11-07

~ that exploded in a quiet Thetford gar
4 y den this year helped fill in blank in
British history and solve a murder mystery
that has puzzled Englshmen for 900 years.
This unique bit OF eXcayating uncovered,
for the second time a three-and-eRe-ha
stone coffin holding the skeleton of old King
Sweyn the scoundrelly Viking raider who
killed his own father 10 get the Danish throne;
then pillaged burned and ravaged his way
through Norway; invaded England thirteen
times before he conquered her-and disap-
peared into thin air on the way TO his corona
ton as Emperor OF Britain.
Nearly nine hundred years later or early
in 1907, Charles Smelling, manager of the Thet-
ford gas works was spading in his garden
when he struck a stone where no stone had
any right to be.
After a week of ack-brealdng wor'.-and
three broken picks-he found that the rock
really was ponderous box.
Mr.. Smelling doubled his efforts to unearth
it, perhaps with ideas of buried treasure in
the back Of his mind
As he dug deeper the thing began to look
suspiciousy like a coffin
Mr.. Smelling tried 20 pry up the siX-inch
stone slab that seemed 20 be lid, but without
success. Just he was about to give 1t up
he touched a secret spring. The cover moved
but only about two inches
The excited Englishman called a neighbor
and together they slowly pushed the heavy
stone 10 one side.
What they saw put end to all hopes for
riches.
The clumsy chest held a six-foot skeleton
A little checking disclosed that the gas
works next door were built on ruins of the
old Saxon chapel of St Edmunds, destroyed
during the Viking invasion. Underneath the
Smelling vegetable patch lay the ancient burial
grounds
Maybe these were the remains Of some
well-known bishop or ancient monk. 1t would
be desecration, Mr.. Smelling decided, to inter-
fere with the last rest Of such man.
But what really bothered him so he couldn't
sleep nights was fear that police would call
and ask what he was doing with a full-szed
and unaccounted for skeleton in his garden.
SO he turned consprator and spadcd dirt
back over the bones. To cover his tracks
completely he planted an oak tree over the
spot and sworc his rcghbor TO secrecy.
Thrty-sx years went by Then came
thunderstorm that blow over the trec.-
Iuqwsitive little boys pokinE around at its
roots started TO investigate the strange stone
handicapped un But they wore ordered 10
pat back the DIRT and chased out off the
premises.
Then came tho second strange coincidence.
a lone Na2i bomber penetrated TO Norfolk.
One bomb fen smack i'm the Smelling gar
den Il blasted the earth away and the rock
caskot that just wouldn't stay buried, no
longer could be- ignored
People came stared and went away talking
But one woman, Mrs Z. # Jameson. an cX-
pereuced ezeayator insisted that something
should be done about the strange find which
might Doe "a treasure ~ real historic worth
For the second time in less than half a
century the heavy stone was lifted This
time historians antiquarans and Psychologists
looked on.
They noticed peculiar Gashcs In the ribs
and hole i'm the slsull near tho right ear.
T. seemed clear enough that whoever the
Cli boy was. De hadn't died "a natural death
TEFn started "a hrstclass detective hunt
into the past. II led straight back 20 the old
Vikings who plundered Ergland's coasts many
centuries ago.
The long. forgotten st Edmund.s Chapel
proved thcNkey 10 the identity Of the bones
t.,t not in TIE way NJ Smelling had thought.
Back in the eleventh century when maraud-
ing Danes under SWoyu or Fori.bcard as he
was called made Ife miserable for every