The unruffled unassuming St. Botolph ’s church in Hadstock , near Cambridge , has a gruesome myth impound to it . In the late 19thcentury , during repairs , it was find that the doorway contained a large fragment of skin under   its metal band . Legend says that the tegument was from a Danish ( Viking ) freebooter who sample to pillage the church building in the 11thcentury . Subsequently , he was flay alive and nailed to the door as a macabre warning

This church is not the only one that has this " human leather " decoration on the front door . At least three medieval churches in England have these skin remains : St. Botolph ’s ; St Michael & All Angels Church in Copford , near Colchester ; and Westminster Abbey in London .

In the past , scientists have been concerned to have it away if these myths were unfeigned ,   performing scientific examinations on some of the samples . However , there has been some controversy about what it was in reality made of .

In the 1970s , Ron Reedfrom the University of Leeds , UK – an expert in leather – analyzed the St Botolph ’s skin and concluded the skin was human and probably from “ a person with clean or greying whisker ” , supporting the myth . However , during the BBC programBlood of the Vikings(2001 ) , DNA analysis revealed that the sample distribution was of Bovid line of descent , although the accuracy of the resultant role was uncertain .

At theUK Archaeological Sciences Conference 2022(UKAS),Ruairidh Macleodand his colleagues further study the skin fragments from all four sites using a non - destructive technique called " Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry " orZooMS .

This proficiency reveals the collagen peptide sequence in samples ,   allow scientist to name which species the sample once go to . In this illustration , the scientists apply caoutchouc erasers against the aerofoil of the skin , and then extracted and trypsin - digesting peptides that adhered to the eraser waste product .

It was chance on that none of the hide samples were human at all . Two sample were bovid in nature , whereas the St Michael & All Angels Church sample distribution came from sawbuck or donkey . The latter sample could not be distinguish any further as these species have a very standardised collagen fingermark .

But why did this story even occur in the first place ?

“ So , it ’s interesting that very convergent myth seem to have arisen for all the churches that we analysed that the skins spring up from Danish ( Viking ) plunderer . Specifically , this is first attested by Samuel Pepys in his journal in 1661 , so the idea that these are flayed human hide from Danes has been around for a long meter . ” Macleod told   IFLScience .

“ In the absence seizure of any sample really proving to be human , it looks like this story might have originated for one of the churches as a local myth first ( the business relationship for Hadstock and Westminster are among the oldest ) , and then spread to others chop-chop where traces of arid   skin were also encounter nailed to the threshold . ”

There may be another reason for animal skins to be placed on the doors of church . Theophilussuggested that the function of nailing deal ( not tanned ) animal skins to doors may have more of a present-day function and bear a more esthetic explanation .

“ Nonetheless , the morbid fascination associated with this myth likely explains its persistence , as well as serving as check to would be church - desecrators ! ” say Macleod .