'Bone biographies' reveal lives of medieval England's common people—and illuminate early benefits system

A series of 'bone biographies' created by a major research project tell the stories of medieval Cambridge residents as recorded on their skeletons, illuminating everyday lives during the era of Black Death and its aftermath.

The work is published alongside a new study investigating medieval poverty by examining remains from the cemetery of a former hospital that housed the poor and infirm. University of Cambridge archaeologists analyzed close to 500 skeletal remains excavated from burial grounds across the city, dating between the 11th and 15th centuries. Samples came from a range of digs dating back to the 1970s. The latest techniques were used to investigate diets, DNA, activities, and bodily traumas of townsfolk, scholars, friars, and merchants. Researchers focused on sixteen of the most revealing remains that are representative of various "social types."

The full "osteobiographies" are available on a new website launched by the After the Plague project at Cambridge University. "An osteobiography uses all available evidence to reconstruct an ancient person's life," said lead researcher Prof John Robb from Cambridge's Department of Archaeology. "Our team used techniques familiar from studies such as Richard III's skeleton, but this time to reveal details of unknown lives—people we would never learn about in any other way." "The importance of using osteobiography on ordinary folk rather than elites, who are documented in historical sources, is that they represent the majority of the population but are those that we know least about," said After the Plague researcher Dr. Sarah Inskip (now at University of Leicester).

The remains of numerous individuals unearthed on the former site of the Hospital of St. John the Evangelist, taken during the 2010 excavation. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit/St John's College Read more

Members of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit at work on the excavation of the Hospital of St. John the Evangelist in 2010. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit Read more

An illustration of project number 766 ('Dickon') based on the osteobiography generated through analyses of remains excavated from All Saints cemetery. 'Dickon' was born in Cambridge between 1289 and 1317, and died around 1349. He probably lived through the Great Famine of 1315-1320 as a child, which may have stunted his growth. He became a muscular man who stood at 5ft 2in. He had worn-down front teeth, probably as a result of relying on them to chew due to lost molars. 'Dickon' most likely died in the first wave of Black Death, and his skeleton contains plague DNA. The full osteobiography can be viewed on the After the Plague website. Credit: Mark Gridley/After the Plague Read more

A photograph of part of the face of project number 766 ('Dickon') who died of plague in Cambridge during the Black Death. Credit: After the Plague Read more

An illustration of project number 92 ('Wat') based on the osteobiography generated through analyses of remains excavated from the main cemetery of the hospital of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge. 'Wat' as an older man, likely born between 1316-1347 and died between 1375-1475. He lived through the Black Death, perhaps ending up in St. John the Evangelist after becoming impoverished in old age. He died in the hospital while sick with cancer. The full osteobiography can be viewed on the After the Plague website. Credit: Mark Gridley/After the Plague Read more

An illustration of the market place in medieval Cambridge by the artist Mark Gridley. Credit: Mark Gridley/After the Plague Read more

Map of medieval Cambridge with the locations of the three main burial sites used in the After the Plague research project. Credit: V. Herring/Antiquity Read more