Archaeologists have made a startling discovery in Alkmaar, a Dutch town famous for its cheese market. In a building under construction, they found a mosaiced floor made of tiles and sawed-up cow bones.

Renovations of a medieval building in the Netherlands revealed a very rare find: a floor made of bones, officials said. From the outside, the building in downtown Alkmaar looks worn and unoccupied but relatively well-kept. It seems to fit in with its surroundings on the narrow cobblestone street, not unique yet not ugly. But looks can be deceiving.

This rare feature, found only in North Holland, has left archaeologists baffled as to why someone would choose such a morbid material.

When archaeologists in Alkmaar began investigating an old building slated for renovation, they expected to find remnants of history. But what they uncovered was far stranger: a floor partially constructed from carefully arranged cattle bones.

During archaeological investigations in the Netherlands, a centuries-old floor made of animal bones was discovered. The find came to light […]