Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK
<p>We have examined the remains of a Pilgrim burial from St Mary Magdalen, Winchester. The individual was a young adult male, aged around 18-25 years at the time of death. Radiocarbon dating showed the remains dated to the late 11th-early 12th centuries, a time when pilgrimages were at their h...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Public Library of Science
2017
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| _version_ | 1797089976046845952 |
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| author | Roffey, S Tucker, K Filipek-Ogden, K Montgomery, J Cameron, J O’Connell, T Evans, J Marter, P Taylor, G |
| author2 | Johnson, C |
| author_facet | Johnson, C Roffey, S Tucker, K Filipek-Ogden, K Montgomery, J Cameron, J O’Connell, T Evans, J Marter, P Taylor, G |
| author_sort | Roffey, S |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>We have examined the remains of a Pilgrim burial from St Mary Magdalen, Winchester. The individual was a young adult male, aged around 18-25 years at the time of death. Radiocarbon dating showed the remains dated to the late 11th-early 12th centuries, a time when pilgrimages were at their height in Europe. Several lines of evidence in connection with the burial suggested this was an individual of some means and prestige. Although buried within the <em>leprosarium</em> cemetery, the skeleton showed only minimal skeletal evidence for leprosy, which was confined to the bones of the feet and legs. Nonetheless, molecular testing of several skeletal elements, including uninvolved bones all showed robust evidence of DNA from <em>Mycobacterium leprae</em>, consistent with the lepromatous or multibacillary form of the disease. We infer that in life, this individual almost certainly suffered with multiple soft tissue lesions. Genotyping of the <em>M.leprae</em> strain showed this belonged to the 2F lineage, today associated with cases from South-Central and Western Asia. During osteological examination it was noted that the cranium and facial features displayed atypical morphology for northern European populations. Subsequently, geochemical isotopic analyses carried out on tooth enamel indicated that this individual was indeed not local to the Winchester region, although it was not possible to be more specific about their geographic origin.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:11:48Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:b4732914-a4b2-4f59-b355-114502147eab |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:11:48Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:b4732914-a4b2-4f59-b355-114502147eab2022-03-27T04:26:12ZInvestigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UKJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:b4732914-a4b2-4f59-b355-114502147eabLeprosyTeethStrontiumIsotope analysisOsteologyArchaeologyPolymerase chain reactionUnited KingdomSymplectic Elements at OxfordPublic Library of Science2017Roffey, STucker, KFilipek-Ogden, KMontgomery, JCameron, JO’Connell, TEvans, JMarter, PTaylor, GJohnson, C<p>We have examined the remains of a Pilgrim burial from St Mary Magdalen, Winchester. The individual was a young adult male, aged around 18-25 years at the time of death. Radiocarbon dating showed the remains dated to the late 11th-early 12th centuries, a time when pilgrimages were at their height in Europe. Several lines of evidence in connection with the burial suggested this was an individual of some means and prestige. Although buried within the <em>leprosarium</em> cemetery, the skeleton showed only minimal skeletal evidence for leprosy, which was confined to the bones of the feet and legs. Nonetheless, molecular testing of several skeletal elements, including uninvolved bones all showed robust evidence of DNA from <em>Mycobacterium leprae</em>, consistent with the lepromatous or multibacillary form of the disease. We infer that in life, this individual almost certainly suffered with multiple soft tissue lesions. Genotyping of the <em>M.leprae</em> strain showed this belonged to the 2F lineage, today associated with cases from South-Central and Western Asia. During osteological examination it was noted that the cranium and facial features displayed atypical morphology for northern European populations. Subsequently, geochemical isotopic analyses carried out on tooth enamel indicated that this individual was indeed not local to the Winchester region, although it was not possible to be more specific about their geographic origin.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Leprosy Teeth Strontium Isotope analysis Osteology Archaeology Polymerase chain reaction United Kingdom Roffey, S Tucker, K Filipek-Ogden, K Montgomery, J Cameron, J O’Connell, T Evans, J Marter, P Taylor, G Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK |
| title | Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK |
| title_full | Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK |
| title_fullStr | Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK |
| title_short | Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK |
| title_sort | investigation of a medieval pilgrim burial excavated from the leprosarium of st mary magdalen winchester uk |
| topic | Leprosy Teeth Strontium Isotope analysis Osteology Archaeology Polymerase chain reaction United Kingdom |
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