King Canute

The collection, housed in a specially built bone repository called an ossuary to protect the remains, was re-dedicated to the ground on Monday ahead of the ceremony.

A spokesman for English Heritage said the service on Friday evening would be spoken in Anglo Saxon, as a mark of respect.

The research was done in partnership with the Church of England, which allowed the church to be reopened for the first time since 1972 for people to view the bones.

The oldest skeleton, of a man aged about 50-years-old, is thought to date back to the reign of King Canute (1016-1035) and has been restored to its original oak coffin.