The working life of Museum of London

By Sarah Matthews, BA, MSc. Senior Osteology Processor

The stage between the archaeological excavation and analysis of a human skeleton is often overlooked. The washing and processing of the remains is not the most glamorous of jobs in the world, but does have a unique benefit. The osteological processors are the first people to really see the skeleton in a clean state. We get the chance to closely examine every skeleton and are the first to see any pathology that affects the bone.

 Our job begins with the arrival of a skeleton contained within a large bag, separated into smaller bags containing the head, torso, arms, legs, hands and feet. The remains are often received with a large amount of soil and this can affect the condition and preservation of the bone. The bones are carefully cleaned by spraying  them with water through a hose, to rinse the soil off and occasionally using soft brushes to remove stubborn, dried on dirt. This allows the remains to be examined for discolouration, cut marks and pathology,  that may be more clearly visable once cleaned. The bones are then spread out onto trays and placed in a drying room. Depending on the size and condition of the remains it can take between 3-5 days to ensure the bones are thoroughly dried.

The final stage of processing is the boxing up. The remains are separated into the key elements, with the legs, arms, hands and feet sided by left and right. These elements are then placed into bags, and any trauma, pathology or unique differences noted. Pathologies for example can include infection and inflammation of the bone, rickets, scurvy and arthritis. Evidence of trauma to the bone can include: healed fractures, dislocations, trephination, amputation, and cut marks. The remains are then ready for storage in the archive.

 The basic washing and drying of the bones, while a relatively simple job, can occasionally provide unique challenges. Recently for example, we had to work out how to remove expanding foam and concrete that had stuck to the bone surfaces. Most importantly, we have to ensure continuity is kept throughout the entire process.  All skeletons are given an individual context number, and these numbers must be kept with the same skeleton at all times. Complete records are made throughout the process to allow easy identification and location of the skeleton once boxed and stored. If part of a skeleton is excavated later, this can then be correctly reunited with the same remains.

Processing is a unique and interesting job within archaeology; and one that is essential for the preservation and analysis of excavated human remains.

 Joint disease is one of the most frequently observed pathological disorders recorded in archaeological skeletal human remains.  The joints represent the point at which two bones meet, allowing for movement and support. The most common form of joint disease is osteoarthritis, this is prevalent in modern populations as well as those in the past.

Osteoarthritis can be caused by a range of different factors. These include increasing age, injury to the bone, dislocation, illness, genetic factors, diet, activity and lifestyle. Osteoarthritis can result in pain and swelling of the joint and can lead to reduced movement and deformity.

 The joints are covered by a strong layer of tissue called cartilage. If this is damaged, the underlying joint surface may be exposed. Bone changes involved in osteoarthritis include the formation of new bone called osteophytes at the joint surface or surrounding margins. This represents the bodies attempt to repair the joint and counter the stresses placed upon it. If the osteophyte growth is large then the two joints may join together or fuse.

Bone changes observed in osteoarthritis can also be erosive or destructive with pitted holes and the formation of cysts into the joint surface. If the joint continues to be moved, the two opposing joint surfaces will be in direct contact and the resulting friction will cause the bone to harden and become polished (eburnation).

Analysis of the post-medieval population of Sts Mary and Michael revealed high rates of osteoarthritis with around 25% of the population showing evidence of this disease. The most commonly affected joints of the body were the radioulnar (wrist), humeroradial (elbow), acetabulum (hip), and femoropatellar (knee).

 The study of joint disease can help us to understand the stresses and strains placed upon the skeleton in past populations. This can also be used to see the affects of increasing age on bone. The occurence of joint disease can then be compared to the prevalence rates  in modern populations.

 By Don Walker

Restrictive, ill fitting and pointed shoes can result in a condition known as hallux valgus. This is where the proximal pedal phalanx (toe bone) of the great toe points laterally (outward towards the other toes), exposing the medial area (inner surface) of the metatarsal head joint surface. In extreme cases, the great toe may cross under or over the second toe. This may also result in painful joint disease and the formation of a bunion, a swelling around the toe joint. Symptoms include swelling, redness and pain at the base of the great toe.

Analysis of the 301 skeletons from St. Marylebone Church Yard, Westminster dating between the mid-eighteenth century to 1850, revealed ten individuals (10/301: 3.3%) suffering from hallux valgus. All were aged over 36 years at death and the deformity was observed in both sexes. Eight of these had hallux valgus in both the left and right great toe. In seven individuals the angle of deformity was at least 40 degrees.

Contemporary examples of footwear from the Dress and Decorative Arts Department. at the Museum of London demonstrate some of the shoe designs that could have led to the development of hallux valgus. It was common in the early 19th century for men and women from the more prosperous classes to wear handmade shoes with symmetrical soles. The right and left shoes were often made identical in form, and this continued up until machine manufacture began in the later 19th century. Shoes normally had pointed toes, although square toed shoes became more popular from the 1820’s to the 1840’s.

Archaeological and osteological evidence has shown that the population from St. Marylebone was of high status. These wealthier individuals would have been able to afford the fashionable footwear of the day, and these designs may have caused some to suffer hallux valgus. This condition appears to have worsened with age and long term wearing of badly fitting shoes. Today, the deformity often affects the adolescent foot. Girls tend to be more commonly stricken, probably as a result of wearing restrictive and high-heeled shoes (McRae 2003:181).

The new MOL Archaeology monograph: St Marylebone Church and burial ground in the 18th to 19th centuries: excavations at St Marylebone School, 1992 and 2004-6, has just been published.

  Teeth are one of the strongest elements of the skeleton and often survive well in archaeological remains. Diseases that affect the dentition are one of the more common pathological conditions observed in the study of human remains. These can be used to inform us about the diet, oral hygiene, stress and occupations of past populations (Roberts and Manchester 2005: 63).

One type of pathology that affects the teeth is calculus. This is caused by a build up of plaque in the mouth that sticks to the surfaces of the teeth. These deposits can become mineralized or calcified and remain attached to the teeth. Calculus is observed as hard deposits of  yellow or brown coloured material located above the gum line (supragingival) or below (subgingival). It can range from slight deposits to large build ups, that can cover most of a tooth surface.

 Dental caries or cavities are a common type of dental pathology that continue to cause much pain for sufferers today. The break down of foods such as sugars, carbohydrates and starch by bacteria in the mouth, can create acids that attack the hard surfaces of teeth. This can lead to the development of caries (small holes and cavities) that can be observed on the enamel and root surfaces. If this destruction continues, extensive decay or gross caries of the entire tooth can occur, leading to early loss.

Carious decay and the build up of calculus on the surfaces of teeth can result in infection and inflammation of the soft tissues surrounding the tooth or gingivitis (gum disease). If this inflammation passes to the bone it can result in the resorbtion of the alveolar bone of the tooth socket (periodontal disease). This may lead to the exposure of the root and early loss as the tooth becomes loose in its socket.

If infection reaches the pulp cavity, inflammation may result in a build up of puss around the region of the tooth root. A large cavity or sinus may form, penetrating the outer surface of the bone, allowing the puss to escape. This can be seen as a large hole or abscess in the region of bone above or below the infected tooth and may also result in early loss.

Another type of dental pathology observed is defects to the enamel surface of a tooth. These are seen as hypoplastic lines, pits and grooves casued by thinning of the enamel surface when the tooth was developing during childhood. These may indicate disturbances during growth, caused by a variety of factors including dietary deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and disease (Chamberlain 1998: 37).

Analysis of skeletons from the post-medieval (1843-1854) catholic mission of Sts. Mary and Michael, Whitechapel, London has revealed high rates of dental disease. Eighty one percent of adults showed evidence of dental caries, 90.7% had calculus, 78.6% suffered from periodontal disease, 35.9% had dental abscesses, 77.8 % had lost teeth during life and 54.4% showed hypoplastic defects of the tooth enamel. The teeth of children were also affected with 33.9% presenting cavities of at least one tooth, 12.1% with calculus and 10.2% with enamel hypoplasia.

  Bone changes caused by infection and bacteria, as well as the broken bones and fractures resulting from injury are often seen in skeletal analysis of past populations. Another type of disease observed are those that reflect the diet an individual had during their life. Poor diets can lead to many health problems and illnesses, and the types of food eaten may also cause changes in the bones. A lack of nutrients such as vitamin C and D in the diet may lead to metabolic disorders, such as scurvy and rickets. These can affect growth and prevent the development of strong and healthy bones. Diets too rich in certain foods may also lead to illness.

   One such diseases is gout, this results from a build up of uric acid in the body and may be associated with a high alcohol intake and diet rich in protein and fatty foods (Roberts and Manchester 2005). Crystals of uric acid may form in the joints and lead to inflammation. This can affect the joints of most limbs but is most commonly observed in the first metatarsophalangeal joint (big toe), causing joint pain and stiffness. Over a period of time this swelling may lead to erosion of the bone at the joint. This can be seen in skeletal remains as punched out lesions with overhanging edges (Rogers and Waldron 1995).  Six adult individuals (6/268: 2.2%) from the Catholic mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel, London, displayed evidence of gout. All had erosive lesions of the big toe.

 Another disease that may be related to a rich diet and obesity is Diffuse idiopathic hyperostosis or DISH. This is caused by the ossification (turning to bone) of ligaments in the spine and other sites of the body such as areas of tendon and muscle attachments. This can result in individual vertebrae of the spine becoming fused together, with the new bone having the appearence of dripping candle wax (Rogers and Waldron 1995). Two males, both aged over 46 years at death were diagnosed with DISH in the Saints Mary and Michael cemetery population. Both showed the typical fusion of over four continuous vertebrae.

The occurrence of these diseases, when compared to an entire cemetery population, can help us to learn about and understand the health and lifestyle of people in the past. They may help reveal the types of diets eaten,  the foods available, and make inferences about a populations background and status.

The past month I have been able to attend two conferences related to the study of human remains and archaeology. Conferences are a great opportunity to see what other people who work in this area have been up to. Academics, students and archaeologists discuss their current research projects, interests and new and exiting developments in the field. These also provide a chance for us to inform others about the recent work MoLAS has been involved in, and create links with people to work with in the future.

The first conference was organised by the Wellcome Trust. This has a well established interest in Bioarchaeology, the use of scientific methods in archaeology. The Wellcome Trust has provided a valuable source for funding research projects in the past, including the Wellcome Osteological Research Database (WORD) used by the Museum of London to record Skeletons. The Wellcome Collection is also the home to the current ‘Skeletons, Londons buried bones exhibition’.

The meeting was designed to bring the fields of archaeology, biology and medicine together and provide a forum for archaeologists and scientists to meet and develop new ideas. There was a range of fascinating talks about the latest advances in ancient DNA and other molecules obtained from archaeological remains. These can be used to answer questions and tell stories about human origins, development and movements in the past. They have also been used to show what people ate, how healthy they were and even what colour hair they may have had. Biomolecules extracted from human bone can also be used to determine how diseases and illnesses such as TB may have affected people in the past. This information can be used to help understand how these pathogens spread and aid our knowledge of disease in the modern world. 

Next I headed to Oxford for the 10th annual conference of the British Association of Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology. Again, this was a great chance to meet and talk to prominent people, colleagues and those interested in the field of human osteology. There were interesting talks about the use of biomolecules in archaeology and also new research into changes to the body before and after death. This included how human remains can tell us about an individuals lifestyle, work and health. Skeletal remains may also show how someone adapted to different environments and activities and also the treatment of a body after death. My colleague Natasha Powers discussed the recent findings of a MoLAS excavation at the grounds of the Royal London Hospital that uncovered coffins containing dissected body portions and evidence of scalpel cuts, sawing and preparation of specimens.

Another part of conferences are the poster displays. These are gallery-like areas where people present current topics, work and research interests, in a poster format for people to view and ask questions. This year myself and colleague Don Walker presented posters about our recent work using computed radiography and also the evidence we have found for pipe smoking.

Smoking was introduced to Britain in the 16th century, and pipe and cigar smoking had become popular by the 19th century. Tobacco use continued to rise and the first mass produced cigarettes were introduced in the 1880s. Evidence of smoking is often demonstrated on archaeological sites in the form of clay pipes. These disposable items were easy to make and the different types and manufactures markings can provide valuable dating information.

Recent analysis of over 700 skeletons from the Catholic Mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel, London, who died between 1843 and 1854, has demonstrated how evidence of smoking can also be observed in the bones of past populations.

 Fifty eight adult skeletons (58/268: 21.6%) displayed wear patterns to the surfaces of the teeth. These were often smooth, rounded grooves resulting from long term pipe smoking. In many cases a circular hole or ‘pipe notch’ was clearly visable when the upper and lower jaws were closed. Thirty two of the individuals with pipe notches also showed a brown coloured staining to the inside of the teeth. Pipe notches were found on a number of young adults. These may have developed over several years suggesting that smoking could have been taken up at a younger age. Adult smokers were also found to be more likely associated with lesions to the inside surfaces of the ribs, possibly the result of lung disease resulting from smoking.

This evidence may help provide information about how smoking affected the health of an individual and if it made more susceptible to other diseases and the infections compared to non smokers. If smoking was more commonplace amongst the Victorian working class, this may be used as an indicator of status and possibly gender. This may also help better our understanding and awareness of smoking in the modern world that is reported to kill 5.4 million people each year (World Health Organisation 2008).

A year on from the smoking ban, the museum of London looks into the history of smoking in London and life in the captial since the ban with a new exhibition ‘ The Big Smoke’. More information can be found at the following link…

www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/AboutUs/Newsroom/Archived08/The+Big+Smoke.htm (link updated 8 February 2010)

Natasha Powers (Head of Osteology) writes:

At MoLAS much of our commercial work involves studying the remains of people who died in the early 19th century. We have the unique opportunity to compare archaeological findings with the historical record. Over the next few weeks I’m going to talk a little about some of the discoveries made and the questions raised.

The team have recently completed analysis of nearly 750 individuals from the Catholic Mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel. These people died and were buried between 1843 and 1854.

A number of women appeared to have unusually shaped ribs. By laying out the ribs in sequence it was possible to see a consistent pattern. The ribs were flattened from the side so that they pointed forwards and down, forming a somewhat triangular shape to the ribcage instead of a gentle curve. These deformities are caused by wearing corsets or stays.

We visited the Department of Fashion and Decorative Arts at the Museum to find out what type of underwear could have caused this. It turned out that the damaging effect of corsetry on the Victorian body is a ‘hot topic’ amongst costume historians. Writers in the 19th century campaigned against the wearing of tightly laced corsets and medical papers were published showing the effect on the internal organs.

You can see an illustration of ‘deformities to the ribs as a result of wearing a corset‘ at Project Gutenberg.

Understandably, our colleagues were largely unaware of the potential of the human remains to help answer this question. We are now looking forwards to working with the Curators to investigate this fascinating aspect of Victorian health further.

“There is a medieval mystery to solve, so let’s start digging.” So began the new BBC archaeological drama Bonekickers. Part Indiana Jones, part Da Vinci Code with a hint of Time Team, the programme is set in the style of most modern forensic crime series complete with sinister music and dark lighting.

If you missed it, the first episode this week portrayed a group of maverick archaeologists from the University of Wessex where “the excavation of 14th century medieval soldiers alongside Saracen coinage in Somerset leads to the hunt for the True Cross”. The show featured a fundamentalist Christian property developer with sword-wielding accomplices, scenes of faith healing, a beheading, and a dramatic conclusion that saw the team abseiling into a subterranean temple – and a fiery inferno that resulted in the destruction of perhaps one of the most significant finds discovered in the UK!!

So how does this compare to real life in an archaeological unit?

Real life archaeology is perhaps not fast paced enough to be compatible with the fictional world of television. We wait for developers and funding bodies to agree budgets, spend time agreeing sampling strategies, and await the results of radiocarbon dates sent to far-off laboratories rather than churning them straight out of a PC. We use our “archaeological imaginations” for the long drawn-out analyses of a site over time rather than for jumping to instant conclusions, a reality that may deter even the most detail-hungry script writer.

It was claimed at one point that “there is always something down there.” Having spent numerous occasions stood next to a machine digging holes only to find nothing, I can assure you that this is not always true. The next time I encounter a cavernous void, I shall remember to refrain from breaking out the mountaineering gear and lowering myself by rope into the abyss. It’s not unheard of to have random people walk across site, oblivious to signs warning of deep trenches, only to ask if treasure has been found. But the closest I have come to a fiery ending was when a machine driver, perhaps a little heavy-handed, decided to dig a little too close to a gas service.

As our heroes pieced together the evidence, ripping artefacts from the trench without a context sheet in sight and in immaculate attire without a hard hat or hi-vis jacket to be seen, I wondered if any of them were aware of the budget code or had filled out this week’s time sheet. The large expensive flat owned by one of the team, and the swanky laboratory, seemed a little far fetched but I look forward to brandishing my museum ID card in an authoritative FBI-style fashion to see what privileges it brings me.

The final scenes produced the declaration “please, please, for the love of Jehovah, may we go to the pub?” and with that came perhaps the most accurate portrayal of the archaeologist.

Infectious disease can transmitted by by a range of routes such as viruses, bacteria and injury to the body. Before the discovery of antibiotics, such infections would have been a major cause of death amongst populations. Many of these diseases affect the soft tissues and organs of the body and may lead to the death of an individual before leaving any trace on the skeleton. Some infections, however, do reach the bone itself and may indicate a more longstanding illness or individuals with a strong immune system.

 When infectious disease does reach the skeleton it is shown as inflammation of the bone. This can occur in different ways and at any of the surfaces of the bone. Periostitis is where the outer layer of tissue that covers the cortical bone surface becomes infected and a new layer of bone is formed called woven bone. As this new bone heals it becomes smooth and compacted lamellar bone through remodelling and begins to resemble the original surface. Osteitis is inflammation to the outer cortical bone and osteomyelitis is infection of the inner surface and medullary or middle cavity of the bone. This can lead to destruction of the surrounding bone and a swollen, enlarged appearance as new bone is formed and remodelled changing the original shape. Infection in the middle cavity may be released through the formation of a small hole (sinus) that connects the interior to the exterior surface.

Many of the skeletons analysed at MoLAS show evidence of infection.  Diseases can often affect the bone in similar ways and it is not always possible to diagnose a particular type of illness. These infections are called non-specific and may have a variety of causes. Some infections however, display a certain distribution and type of lesion throughout the skeleton and from this it is possible to determine what disease was present. These are known as specific infections.

 One specific infection found in archaeological remains is tuberculosis. This can be transmitted to humans from cattle through infected milk or more commonly through human to human contact through the respiratory system and affecting the lungs. This can spread to other parts of the body including the skeleton where it mainly affects the spine and the joints of the hip and knee. Osteomyeltis may lead to destructive lesions and septic arthritis at the joints and can result in erosion and fusion of the joint surfaces. In the spine, destructive lesions may lead to collapse of the vertebral bodies causing curvature called a kyphosis.

 Another specific infection that can be seen in the skeleton is treponemal disease that includes syphilis. This may result in inflammation to the skull and face which can become pitted and crater like (caries sicca). In the long bones, infection may cause the bones to become expanded and distorted due to osteomyleitis.  The tibia may become bow shaped (sabre shin) due to remodelling through new bone growth.

Infectious disease affects many people in the world today and continues to be a major casue of death. Study of infection in archaeological skeletons may help us to understand how disease evolves and spreads through modern populations.