Of the five skeletons found under the foundations of the Manastirac monastery near Rekovac, eastern Serbia, two were female and over two meters long, in contradiction to established assumption that medieval Serbs were short, Jagodina museum experts told Tanjug.

The skeletons, found by accident as the monastery’s foundations were reconstructed, will be subject of detailed analysis and treated as rare archeological finds.

The experts at the site said that, judging by the female skeletons’ position, the women buried there were murdered. One male skeleton also showed exceptional height. The working assumption is that the three came from a single family of monastery founders. The remaining two persons buried at the site are thought to have been monks.

The female skeletons measure 126 centimeters from knees to neck, much more than the present day average.

The museum’s experts stressed that several other skeletons of similar proportions were found earlier in Å umadija, Pomoravlje and LavЍa, reminding that Despot Stefan Lazarević’s son, Prince Lazar, was known as Visoki (Tall).

Added to many other medieval Serbian rulers who are known to have been tall, the findings may indicate that short people were not charactestic of the Serbian state during the Middle Ages, as previously thought.