Predictably, in a strictly Catholic France where actors were excommunicated and refused burial in consecrated ground (though churchmen patronised the theatre and wrote plays themselves), the usual dour moral lessons were drawn.

ECONOMIST: Mysterious Moli��re

But the exhumation licence granted at the start of the University of Leicester's excavation stated that, depending on the identity of any remains found, they should be reinterred either in the nearest consecrated ground or at a suitable site of the university's choice.

BBC: Richard III

There can be little doubt there were gay soldiers who fought for American independence, who consecrated the ground at Gettysburg, who manned the trenches along the Western Front, who stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Signs Repeal of Don��t Ask, Don��t Tell