Scientists reveal what an ordinary 13th century man looked like

The man, known as Context 958 was among 400 complete skeletons found when the graveyard was excavated


News Desk March 24, 2017
A reconstruction of the face of a man who died in Cambridge more than 700 years ago Dr Chris Rynn, Dundee University. PHOTO COURTESY: THE INDEPENDENT

This is the reconstructed face of a man who died in Cambridge more than 700 years ago. Even though he looks like a friendly sort of guy or maybe a geography teacher who helps out with the local football team or perhaps a social worker who spends time with elder people in his spare time, it is believed that he was homeless when he died as his body was found in the grounds of the Hospital of St John the Evangelist.

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His skeleton also shows signs that he lived a tough life before his death around the age of 40. “The man had quite a robust skeleton with a lot of wear and tear from a hard life,” said Professor John Robb of Cambridge University, who worked with experts at Dundee University to reconstruct the face.
 The professor further added that he wasn’t sure what job the man specifically did but he was a working class person with a specialised trade of some kind.

“One interesting feature is that he had a relatively rich diet in meat or fish which suggests that he was in a trade or job which gave him more access to these foods than a poor person normally had.”

“He had fallen on hard times, perhaps through illness, limiting his ability to continue working or through not have a family network to take care of him during his poverty.”

A sign that he was starving or seriously ill can be concluded from the analysis of his teeth which showed that he had stopped growing enamel twice while young.

He even suffered a heavy blow on the back of his skull that caused damage which was healed by the time he died.

“He has a few unusual features, notably being buried face down which is a small irregularity for mediaeval burial,” said Professor Robb. “But we are interested in him and in people like him more for ways in which they are not unusual as they represent a sector of the mediaeval population which is quite hard to learn about.”

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“Most historical records are about the financial and legal transactions of well off people. The less money and property you had, the less likely anybody was to ever write down anything about you, so skeletons like this are our only chance to learn about how the ordinary poor lived.”

The man, known as Context 958, was among 400 complete skeletons found when the graveyard was excavated between 2010 and 2012. They have been dated from the 13th to the 15th centuries.

 

This article originally appeared on The Independent

COMMENTS (1)

Sam K | 7 years ago | Reply thats creepy
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