Cranial trauma and treatment: a case study from the medieval cemetery of St. Mary Spital,London

Excavation of the cemetery of the medieval priory of St. Mary‐without‐Bishopsgate, Spitalfields, London from 1998–2001, recovered the remains of over 10,000 individuals. Following initial assessment, skeleton 19893 was found to have suffered three cranial injuries caused by a sharp edged implement. The remains were those of a middle aged adult male of around 172.4 cm in stature, truncated at the hips by a later feature. The remaining elements were well preserved. The cranial injuries were well healed, suggestive of some degree of post‐traumatic care. Evidence of possible surgery was also found. Soft tissue complications would undoubtedly have followed the assault. Battle related trauma was considered, together with evidence of treatment. Whilst the demographic profile of the individual fitted a plausible one for a professional fighter of the medieval period, no firm evidence of occupation could be provided. The case study indicates both the ability of medieval people to survive major trauma and the wealth of information full analysis of the Spitalfields assemblage will provide the osteological community. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Excavation of a Medieval Bastion at St. Nicholas's Almshouses,King Street,Bristol

SUMMARY

The paper describes the discovery of the lower portion of a bastion of the late 13th century, its construction and destruction. This monument remains to a height of 8 ft. and has three arrow-slits and standins remaining. The bastion was at one time part of the Marsh Wall defences of Bristol. A small but interesting group of pottery including south-western French types is associated with its construction. The method of construction of the Almshouses, which were built above the bastion, required the deposition of considerable domestic rubbish including a large quantity of pottery types, many of which were previously only loosely datable. The opening of the Almshouses in 1656 provides a firm dating for this large and varied collection.     

Towyn-y-Capel,and the Ruined Chapel of St. Bride,on the West Coast of Holyhead Island: with Notices of the Curious Interments there Discovered

Conservation of the Cosmati pavement in Westminster Abbey included the compilation of a record of remains first revealed in 1868–70. Study of these showed two phases of building dating to the mid-eleventh century and the reconstruction of the Abbey in the mid-thirteenth century. Parts of the plan of the mid-eleventh-century eastern end and the presbytery were recovered, including details of the pier bases. A reconstruction of the profiles show that there must have been two steps between the presbytery and the sanctuary.     

Age Patterns of Mortality During the Black Death in London, A.D. 1349-1350

This paper examines adult age-specific mortality patterns of one of the most devastating epidemics in recorded history, the Black Death of A.D. 1347-351. The goal was to determine whether the epidemic affected all ages equally or if it targeted certain age groups. Analyses were done using a sample of 337 individuals excavated from the East Smithfield cemetery in London, which contains only individuals who died during the Black Death in London in 1349-1350. The age patterns from East Smithfield were compared to a sample of 207 individuals who died from non-epidemic causes of mortality. Ages were estimated using the method of transition analysis, and age-specific mortality was evaluated using a hazards model. The results indicate that the risk of mortality during the Black Death increased with adult age, and therefore that age had an effect on risk of death during the epidemic. The age patterns in the Black Death cemetery were similar to those from the non-epidemic mortality sample. The results from this study are consistent with previous findings suggesting that despite the devastating nature of the Black Death, the 14(th)-century disease had general patterns of selectivity that were similar to those associated with normal medieval mortality.     

An Iranian Perspective of J. B. Fraser's Trip to Khorasan in the 1820s

This paper is based on an earlier one about James Baillie Fraser's trip to Khorasan in the 1820s, the first European to travel there in the Qajar era. But instead of focusing on Fraser's experience, the information given by him is used to view the circumstances in Khorasan from an Iranian perspective, which, in turn, is derived from a study of the three main categories of people met by Fraser. Through them and their careers, the paper analyzes the problems, both inherited and new, that the early Qajars faced from the outset. Each of the three categories is dealt with separately under the headings of Prince-Governors, Princes in Exile or in Obeisance and, finally, High Priests. Together these complete the overall picture in Greater Khorasan and, by extension, throughout Iran at that particular time. What emerges from a study of their careers are the seeds of some of the major trends that were to mark nineteenth-century Iran. Khorasan, with its size and position, was particularly well placed to afford a view of a society still dependent on tribal vagaries and the dominant role of the religious hierarchy. Above all, the geo-strategic location of the province affords a privileged view across to the outlying parts of Greater Khorasan which, although still viewed from inside as a part of Greater Iran, were, due to inherent instabilities, liable to manipulation by British and Russian imperialism. The most effective tool of the latter was a propensity to promote new national entities on the ruins of an empire struggling to sustain itself without means and with a dated mindset of which most people were sorely unaware. By projecting the circumstances of time and place onto the future, one can perceive a certain degree of inevitability in the upcoming history of Qajar Iran.     

Educating the Workers of Sheffield in the 18th and 19th Centuries: St Luke's National School,Garden Street,Sheffield

This article describes the archaeological recording of a Sunday school which was constructed in 1873, on the site of an earlier building, to provide educational needs for the working-class families which surrounded Garden Street. A brief historical background to the provision of education both nationally and in Sheffield is provided, along with the results of the recording of the standing building, and reference to below-ground remains of the residential accommodation which surrounded it is given. The recording concluded that the original form of the school was intact, with little in the way of modifications, apart from the addition of 20th-century industrial structures and an air raid shelter. The site provides a valuable insight into educational provision in one of the poorer areas of 19th-century Sheffield.     

Estimation of the Production Parameters of Very Large Medieval Bricks from St. Urban,Switzerland

The aim of the present study is to determine the production technology of a particular type of large medieval brick. The firing temperature and their soak times are estimated using a combination of colour and fabric, as well as mineralogical, microstructural and open porosity analysis. A replication experiment was carried out in order to validate the estimated predictions, and to give a realistic idea of the time needed to dry and fire each large brick. The experiment also suggests the temperature distribution and firing atmosphere in the kiln, as well as providing an estimate of fuel consumption. Analytical results and replication both provide information to assess the production technology, the time parameters and the firing temperatures involved in the production of the medieval bricks of St. Urban.     

Characterization of bricks and tiles from the 17th-century brick Chapel,St. Mary's City,Maryland

The brick Chapel at St. Mary's City, Maryland, built around 1667, would have been an impressive structure on a colonial frontier where all the other buildings were built only of wood. While the building is no longer extant, the bricks remaining in the buried foundations hold information about the technologies and materials used by brickmakers in the 17th-century Chesapeake region. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and petrographic analysis of thin sections were used to compare the Chapel bricks and other 17th-century bricks and tiles from several Chesapeake contexts to locally available clay sources. While the composition of the Chapel bricks is generally consistent with that of clays available in southern Maryland, these historic materials could not be linked to any one deposit, and may reflect the mixing of clays from multiple sources. In contrast, building materials from other 17th-century buildings at St. Mary's City could be more precisely “matched” to specific local clay deposits. This paper reports on our initial investigations toward understanding the technology of the Chapel bricks and their relationship to other bricks from St. Mary's City.     

Remarks on the Church of St. Mary the Virgin,Oxford

Traces of light graffiti recovered from the twelfth-century west wall and nave-piers of Rochester Cathedral represent the remaining evidence for an extensive programme of early medieval wall-paintings, although little of the original scheme can be reconstructed.