Under St. John’s College in Cambridge, archaeologists found what is believed to be one of the largest medieval hospital burial cemeteries in Britain. It contains an estimated 1,300 graves. Many of the relics are thought to be those of university students who had fallen on bad feet and whose families could not afford more expensive funerals.

According to Cambridge University, historians initially learned of the cemetery’s existence and location in the 1950s, but it wasn’t until the excavations for the Victorian building there started three years ago that they realized the cemetery’s size. The findings’ specifics have just recently been made public.

Over 400 full skeletons from the 13th to 15th centuries, as well as up to 1,000 additional burials containing partial bones, have been discovered, according to a report in the most recent issue of the Archaeological Journal.

While some of the burials featured incomplete skeletons (left), others contained partial and disarticulated remains (right). (Craig Cessford, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge University)

According to historical references dating back to 1250, the majority of the bodies were buried without coffins and many were even buried without burial shrouds, proving that the Hospital of St. John the Evangelist, which stood next to the cemetery until 1511 and gave St. John’s College its name, was primarily devoted to caring for “poor scholars and other wretched persons.” Jewelry or other personal things were only found in a small number of burials.

At Cambridge University’s graveyard location, 400 corpses were discovered (Craig Cessford, Cambridge University Department of Archaeology and Anthropology)

According to Cambridge University, the amount of remains found was much higher than the scientists had anticipated and they provided important new insights into life and death in medieval Cambridge.

According to a study of the remains, approximately half belonged to men and the other half to women. No babies or children were discovered, which may not have been surprising given that university scholars were the main users of the cemetery.

The remains were examined by archaeologists on hundreds of occasions. (Craig Cessford, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge University)

The dig’s director, Dr. Craig Cessford of the university’s department of archaeology and anthropology, explained that the testing was done to look into local stories connecting the hospital cemetery to the black plague. On the remains, however, there was no sign of disease.

There were not many severe illnesses or conditions present in the bodies that would have necessitated medical intervention. “This could suggest that the major duty of the hospital was spiritual and physical care of the poor and infirm rather than medical treatment of the ill and injured,” The Archaeological Journal reported in a study on the discovery.

Source: ancient-origins.net