Buried deep in a cemetery about 15 miles outside of London is a cracked and initially-unassuming grave which is unlike any other.

Dr William Mead is buried in a small plot in Ware, Hertfordshire.

But it's not Dr Mead's tombstone which raises eyebrows - it's what's carved into it.

According to the headstone in St Mary's churchyard, the doctor died in October 1652 - two months' short of his 149th birthday. Try finding a card for that.

The inscription says: "William Mead M.D. who departed this life on the 28th day of October, 1652, aged 148 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days."

If the age is correct, Dr Mead would have been born in January 1504, living through seven monarchs and two royal dynasties before dying amidst England's civil war.

While the age of 148 even now is unheard of, life expectancies for people born in Europe in the 1500s was between 30 and 40, making Dr Mead's story even more implausible.

According to local legend, Dr Mead developed an 'elixir for long life' sold along with other medicines in the town.

It's thought his wife had the inscription put onto his headstone following his death in order to boost sales, casting even further doubt on the story.

Local records from 1781 meanwhile write of "this remarkable instance of longevity", where it was found that groundskeepers had the stone renewed after it had become so weathered, Dr Mead's inscription became illegible.

Hertfordshire history sites meanwhile claim the gravestone became overgrown once again in recent years, and was sent to be re-carved once again before bungling stonemasons dropped it, leaving in several pieces.

The stone has since been pieced back together, but as for whether Dr Mead's age is accurate - that remains a mystery.

Source:
courtesy of MIRROR

by Susie Beever

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