Unveiling the Lives of Cambridge’s Forgotten: Reconstructing the Biographies of Medieval Residents through Skeleton Analysis

Archaeologists at Cambridge University have reconstructed the life stories of ordinary medieval residents by studying their skeletons. The researchers examined the remains of over 400 adults and children buried in the grounds of a medieval hospital between AD1200 and 1500. Through a detailed analysis of the bones, they were able to gain insights into the lives, health, and appearance of these individuals.

The study also shed light on how the hospital operated its medieval “benefits system” and determined who was deserving of help. The skeletons revealed that the people buried in the hospital came from various social classes, including orphan children, university scholars, and a group known as the “shame-faced poor” – individuals who had experienced a decline in fortune and were considered worthy of charity.

The excavations of the former site of the hospital of St John the Evangelist in 2010 uncovered numerous unidentified graves. For this new study, experts utilized DNA and isotope analysis, human skeletal variation, and other disciplines to examine up to 50 individual characteristics of each skeleton. This comprehensive dataset is believed to be one of the most extensive compiled for medieval England.

A new website was launched to accompany the research paper published in Antiquity, which presents the stories of some of the individuals found at the hospital. One such individual is a man named “Wat,” who survived multiple waves of the Black Death but ultimately succumbed to cancer in his 60s. Another person, named “Maria,” had a difficult childhood and performed heavy manual labor before contracting tuberculosis and passing away in her early 20s.

The researchers also identified around 10 male skeletons as probable university scholars based on the symmetry of their arm bones, suggesting they did not engage in heavy manual work like most young males.

The study’s lead researcher, Professor John Robb, noted that the people in the hospital were not solely from the underclass. Different individuals arrived at the hospital through various circumstances, raising questions about the decision-making process. The authors of the study concluded that by caring for different types of people, the hospital could attract a diverse range of donors and ensure its survival for 300 years.