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No.47 - April 2001 | Contex HOME SPITALFIELD’S
SKELETAL RESEARCH Spitalfields was once the site of the medieval Hospital of the Blessed Virgin Mary without Bishopsgate. It was London’s biggest hospital from 1197 until the Dissolution. Recent excavations of its burial grounds have yielded the bones of over 10,500 medieval Londoners, making this the world’s biggest skeletal assemblage from an archaeological context. Nor is this the final total, as a further phase of excavation is likely to produce at least another 2-300. Analysis is still at an early stage and will probably take 5 years or more, but Brian Connell of MoLSS is one of a team of 12 at work on this exciting but daunting collection. Their first task is to wash the bones with a water hose over a steel grid covered with a fine nylon mesh to catch the very tiniest bones. This is followed by several days of slow drying and marking before analysis can begin. Generally the bones have survived in good condition so that many injuries and diseases can be identified as well as basic information about the age and sex of the deceased. A major puzzle of the site is that very many burials were in crowded pits, strongly suggesting that they were victims of an epidemic. However high-precision radio-carbon dating of one such skeleton, courtesy of Meet the Ancestors, had given a date of 1270, too early for the Black Death. The Spitalfields team included a number of archaeologists with post-graduate qualifications in osteology so that very delicate material, such as the bones of unborn-babies, were recovered along with the skeletons of their unfortunate mothers by ‘block lifting’. Some 13 examples were found, which was not unexpected, as the Hospital had a special responsibility for pregnant women, children and wayfarers. There is a wide range of pathological conditions that are currently being identified in large numbers in the Spitalfields skeletons. Infectious diseases shown in skeletons are of 2 sorts, ‘specific’ - in which the cause is readily identifiable and ‘non-specific’ - that are non-identifiable. Among such non-specific infections were an example of a chronic osteolomyelitis in a femur that oozed pus for so long that the bone had grossly thickened and formed drainage channels. However Brian said that paradoxically such skeletal change indicated a strong resistance to infection, the person must have survived with their infection for a long time for their bones to have become so misshapen. Nor did such people necessarily suffer excruciating pain, as shown by the case history of a C19th seaman with an identical infection who managed satisfactorily by draining his septic joint once a week. Tuberculosis is an example of a disease that might be expected in overcrowded urban conditions. Although TB primarily affects the lungs and gut in some advanced cases it can invade bones, especially the lower spine, and so far 65 sufferers have been found. Syphilis has been identified in 35 Spitalfields’ skeletons to date - which was especially interesting as it was once believed that this disease was introduced into Europe by the returning sailors of Christopher Columbus in 1495. It is difficult to distinguish Syphilis from other diseases caused by treponema infection, however one diagnostic characteristic of Venereal Syphilis is congenital transmission and at least one such case had been found, a 10 year old with a grossly deformed face and limb bones. Hopefully further stratigraphic analysis and C14 dating will establish the date of his poor child’s death. Very many skeletons have various injuries, accidental and otherwise. For example one person had a well aligned and healed femur that was almost certainly thanks to skilled splinting, indicating that medieval medicine consisted of more than prayer and a few herbs. At least 15 individuals buried at Spitalfields had survived fractured skulls and 2 had undergone trephining - the deliberate making of a small hole in the skull to release demons or pressure within. One example of a well-healed amputation has so far been identified, but also many examples of poorly healed fractures and post-traumatic infection. Analysis of what how well such injuries healed will make a very interest research topic. Wear and tear damage to bone (osteo-arthritis) was common and examples of Ankylosis Spondylitis a joint disease that affects the spine have also been found. How disabled members of society survived is an intriguing question raised by the Spitalfields’ finds. Individuals with paralysis and very severe deformities of the spine had survived into adulthood. Other skeletal abnormalities so far identified include a dwarf, someone with a congenital dislocation of the hip and a child with both a cleft lip and signs of iron deficiency anaemia. Had their disfigurement led to neglect? The Spitalfields skeletons are not a perfect cross-section of the medieval population of London as children are under-represented, but their study will provide a very comprehensive view of the health in medieval times. Nor is this all as a full analysis will give medical researchers valuable insights into earlier manifestations of many current infections and disabilities. |
