S2, E2: In 2008 construction workers just beyond York’s City Walls uncovered 113 bodies on a site thought to be out of use between the 1580s and 1830s. Almost exclusively young men the skeletons show signs of hard physical labour and extensive scarring leading archaeologists to believe these could be Parliamentary forces who lay siege to the city in 1644 during the Civil War. But only a full forensic and historical investigation will confidently lead to answers about who the people are in this unique grave. If they are civil war soldiers why do they not appear to have died violently? And why do the skeletons of young men show signs of repetitive strains normally seen in old men who have led physically demanding lives? Why do lots of the skeletons have healed wounds caused by sharp objects? This unique case will shed new light on life in a siege army and the training techniques of the Civil War and – ultimately – provide and brand new and personalized perspective on this major turning point in British history. When the team spots an incredibly rare genetic peculiarity in two of the skeletons among the 113 they realize they could have stumbled on a pair of brothers. The trail to find out who these two men could have been and how they ended up dead in a mass grave outside York takes us into an extraordinary tale of bravery in the face of extreme hardship and gives us a brand new perspective on disability centuries ago which can perhaps teach us something about so-called modern attitudes to disability today.