According to The Guardian, archaeologists have unearthed 100 bodies at a 19th-century burial site in southwest London.
Their skeletal remains starkly illustrate the harsh and violent conditions of life during Dickensian times.
Grim Discoveries Among the Exhumed Bodies
Among those exhumed were a man thought to be a bare-knuckle boxer, a woman with a broken nose who was likely murdered, and a young girl who died before reaching her second birthday.
Kirsten Egging Dinwiddy, a senior osteoarchaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, told The Guardian that many people living in the area at the time were extremely poor and endured “a life of drudgery and just-about surviving.”
The Site of the Discovery
The bodies were discovered at the New Covent Garden market, which had an associated cemetery connected to a local church. This cemetery was partially cleared in the 1960s during the market’s construction. The skeletal remains revealed signs of grueling work conditions, a toxic environment, widespread diseases, physical deformities, malnutrition, and fatal violence.
Evidence of Disease and Violence
The skeletons showed high rates of infections, including syphilis. One woman with syphilis also had a broken nose and appeared to have been stabbed in her right ear with a dagger, leading archaeologists to believe she was murdered.
Another man, also infected with syphilis, stood nearly six feet tall, an impressive height for the period. His flattened nose and a depression on his left brow suggested he had endured “several violent altercations.” The man’s knuckles bore signs of fighting, indicating he might have been a bare-knuckle boxer, a popular form of entertainment at the time, Ms. Egging Dinwiddy said. He would have had a “distinctive look” and a “less than winning smile,” she added.
High Infant Mortality Rates
Infant mortality was tragically high during the 19th century, and the discovery of little Jane Clara Jay serves as a poignant reminder of those harsh times. Jane died in 1847 just before her second birthday. A coffin plate was found with her remains. Although there were signs of malnutrition, the precise cause of her death remains unclear.
