Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of hundreds of medieval scholars, all fallen upon hard times, on the site what is now a Cambridge College.
Craig Cessford, Cambridge University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Containing more than 1,000 people, the large graveyard was discovered three years ago beneath the Old Divinity School at St John's College during refurbishment of the Victorian building. Details of the finding have only now been made public.
Craig Cessford, Cambridge University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
The archaeologists uncovered 400 perfectly preserved human skeletons, along with the disarticulated and fragmentary remains of up to 1,000 more individuals.
"It's one of the largest medieval hospital osteoarcheological assemblages from the British Isles," dig director Craig Cessford, from the university’s department of archaeology and anthropology, said.
Craig Cessford, Cambridge University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Mostly dating from the 13th to 15th centuries, the remains lay in burials belonging to the Hospital of St John the Evangelist.
The building, from which St John's College takes its name, stood opposite the graveyard until 1511 and was established to care for "poor scholars and other wretched persons."
Pregnant women, lepers, the wounded, cripples and the insane were all specifically excluded from its care.
Craig Cessford, Cambridge University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
People were laid to rest without coffins, and even without shrouds, confirming the cemetery was mainly for the poor. Jewellery and personal items, including a crucifix, were only present in a handful of burials.
"Items were found in graves that might represent grave-goods, but their positions were ambiguous and it is equally possible that they represent residual material from earlier activity at the site," Cessford said.
Craig Cessford, Cambridge University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Some of the skeletons also did not fit their graves. Here is shown a skeleton found in a grave which was too large for the body.
"This suggests that some, but not all of the graves may have been dug in advance of being needed," Cessford wrote in the Archaeological Journal.
"One possibility is that this occurred prior to the winter, when ground conditions would have potentially made digging graves considerably more difficult," he added.
Craig Cessford, Cambridge University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Anthropological examinations of the remains that could be identified revealed there was a roughly equal gender balance, with the majority of individuals having died between around 25 and 45 years old.
The archaeologists also noted the complete absence of infants, normally expected in a medieval hospital. No evidence of the Black Death was found among the remains. Most of the skeletons did not show signs of serious illnesses and conditions that would have required medical attention.
Craig Cessford, Cambridge University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Up Next