The working life of Museum of London

  Bone changes caused by infection and bacteria, as well as the broken bones and fractures resulting from injury are often seen in skeletal analysis of past populations. Another type of disease observed are those that reflect the diet an individual had during their life. Poor diets can lead to many health problems and illnesses, and the types of food eaten may also cause changes in the bones. A lack of nutrients such as vitamin C and D in the diet may lead to metabolic disorders, such as scurvy and rickets. These can affect growth and prevent the development of strong and healthy bones. Diets too rich in certain foods may also lead to illness.

   One such diseases is gout, this results from a build up of uric acid in the body and may be associated with a high alcohol intake and diet rich in protein and fatty foods (Roberts and Manchester 2005). Crystals of uric acid may form in the joints and lead to inflammation. This can affect the joints of most limbs but is most commonly observed in the first metatarsophalangeal joint (big toe), causing joint pain and stiffness. Over a period of time this swelling may lead to erosion of the bone at the joint. This can be seen in skeletal remains as punched out lesions with overhanging edges (Rogers and Waldron 1995).  Six adult individuals (6/268: 2.2%) from the Catholic mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel, London, displayed evidence of gout. All had erosive lesions of the big toe.

 Another disease that may be related to a rich diet and obesity is Diffuse idiopathic hyperostosis or DISH. This is caused by the ossification (turning to bone) of ligaments in the spine and other sites of the body such as areas of tendon and muscle attachments. This can result in individual vertebrae of the spine becoming fused together, with the new bone having the appearence of dripping candle wax (Rogers and Waldron 1995). Two males, both aged over 46 years at death were diagnosed with DISH in the Saints Mary and Michael cemetery population. Both showed the typical fusion of over four continuous vertebrae.

The occurrence of these diseases, when compared to an entire cemetery population, can help us to learn about and understand the health and lifestyle of people in the past. They may help reveal the types of diets eaten,  the foods available, and make inferences about a populations background and status. 

The past month I have been able to attend two conferences related to the study of human remains and archaeology. Conferences are a great opportunity to see what other people who work in this area have been up to. Academics, students and archaeologists discuss their current research projects, interests and new and exiting developments in the field. These also provide a chance for us to inform others about the recent work MoLAS has been involved in, and create links with people to work with in the future.

The first conference was organised by the Wellcome Trust. This has a well established interest in Bioarchaeology, the use of scientific methods in archaeology. The Wellcome Trust has provided a valuable source for funding research projects in the past, including the Wellcome Osteological Research Database (WORD) used by the Museum of London to record Skeletons. The Wellcome Collection is also the home to the current ‘Skeletons, Londons buried bones exhibition’.

The meeting was designed to bring the fields of archaeology, biology and medicine together and provide a forum for archaeologists and scientists to meet and develop new ideas. There was a range of fascinating talks about the latest advances in ancient DNA and other molecules obtained from archaeological remains. These can be used to answer questions and tell stories about human origins, development and movements in the past. They have also been used to show what people ate, how healthy they were and even what colour hair they may have had. Biomolecules extracted from human bone can also be used to determine how diseases and illnesses such as TB may have affected people in the past. This information can be used to help understand how these pathogens spread and aid our knowledge of disease in the modern world. 

Next I headed to Oxford for the 10th annual conference of the British Association of Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology. Again, this was a great chance to meet and talk to prominent people, colleagues and those interested in the field of human osteology. There were interesting talks about the use of biomolecules in archaeology and also new research into changes to the body before and after death. This included how human remains can tell us about an individuals lifestyle, work and health. Skeletal remains may also show how someone adapted to different environments and activities and also the treatment of a body after death. My colleague Natasha Powers discussed the recent findings of a MoLAS excavation at the grounds of the Royal London Hospital that uncovered coffins containing dissected body portions and evidence of scalpel cuts, sawing and preparation of specimens.

Another part of conferences are the poster displays. These are gallery-like areas where people present current topics, work and research interests, in a poster format for people to view and ask questions. This year myself and colleague Don Walker presented posters about our recent work using computed radiography and also the evidence we have found for pipe smoking.

  Smoking was introduced to Britain in the 16th century, and pipe and cigar smoking had become popular by the 19th century. Tabacco use continued to rise and the first mass produced cigarettes were introduced in the 1880s. Evidence of smoking is often demonstrated on archaeological sites in the form of clay pipes. These disposable items were easy to make and the different types and manufactures markings can provide valuable dating information.

Recent analysis of over 700 skeletons from the Catholic Mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel, London, who died between 1843 and 1854, has demonstrated how evidence of smoking can also be observed in the bones of past populations.

 Fifty eight adult skeletons (58/268: 21.6%) displayed wear patterns to the surfaces of the teeth. These were often smooth, rounded grooves resulting from long term pipe smoking. In many cases a circular hole or ‘pipe notch’ was clearly visable when the upper and lower jaws were closed. Thirty two of the individuals with pipe notches also showed a brown coloured staining to the inside of the teeth. Pipe notches were found on a number of young adults. These may have developed over several years suggesting that smoking could have been taken up at a younger age. Adult smokers were also found to be more likely associated with lesions to the inside surfaces of the ribs, possibly the result of lung disease resulting from smoking.

This evidence may help provide information about how smoking affected the health of an individual and if it made more susceptible to other diseases and the infections compared to non smokers. If smoking was more commonplace amongst the Victorian working class, this may be used as an indicator of status and possibly gender. This may also help better our understanding and awareness of smoking in the modern world that is reported to kill 5.4 million people each year (World Health Organisation 2008).

A year on from the smoking ban, the museum of London looks into the history of smoking in London and life in the captial since the ban with a new exhibition ‘ The Big Smoke’. More information can be found at the following link…

http://www.molg.org.uk/English/NewsRoom/Current/The+Big+Smoke.htm

Natasha Powers (Head of Osteology) writes:

At MoLAS much of our commercial work involves studying the remains of people who died in the early 19th century. We have the unique opportunity to compare archaeological findings with the historical record. Over the next few weeks I’m going to talk a little about some of the discoveries made and the questions raised.

The team have recently completed analysis of nearly 750 individuals from the Catholic Mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel. These people died and were buried between 1843 and 1854.

A number of women appeared to have unusually shaped ribs. By laying out the ribs in sequence it was possible to see a consistent pattern. The ribs were flattened from the side so that they pointed forwards and down, forming a somewhat triangular shape to the ribcage instead of a gentle curve. These deformities are caused by wearing corsets or stays.

We visited the Department of Fashion and Decorative Arts at the Museum to find out what type of underwear could have caused this. It turned out that the damaging effect of corsetry on the Victorian body is a ‘hot topic’ amongst costume historians. Writers in the 19th century campaigned against the wearing of tightly laced corsets and medical papers were published showing the effect on the internal organs.

You can see an illustration of ‘deformities to the ribs as a result of wearing a corset‘ at Project Gutenberg.

Understandably, our colleagues were largely unaware of the potential of the human remains to help answer this question. We are now looking forwards to working with the Curators to investigate this fascinating aspect of Victorian health further.

“There is a medieval mystery to solve, so let’s start digging.” So began the new BBC archaeological drama Bonekickers. Part Indiana Jones, part Da Vinci Code with a hint of Time Team, the programme is set in the style of most modern forensic crime series complete with sinister music and dark lighting.

If you missed it, the first episode this week portrayed a group of maverick archaeologists from the University of Wessex where “the excavation of 14th century medieval soldiers alongside Saracen coinage in Somerset leads to the hunt for the True Cross”. The show featured a fundamentalist Christian property developer with sword-wielding accomplices, scenes of faith healing, a beheading, and a dramatic conclusion that saw the team abseiling into a subterranean temple - and a fiery inferno that resulted in the destruction of perhaps one of the most significant finds discovered in the UK!!

So how does this compare to real life in an archaeological unit?

Real life archaeology is perhaps not fast paced enough to be compatible with the fictional world of television. We wait for developers and funding bodies to agree budgets, spend time agreeing sampling strategies, and await the results of radiocarbon dates sent to far-off laboratories rather than churning them straight out of a PC. We use our “archaeological imaginations” for the long drawn-out analyses of a site over time rather than for jumping to instant conclusions, a reality that may deter even the most detail-hungry script writer.

It was claimed at one point that “there is always something down there.” Having spent numerous occasions stood next to a machine digging holes only to find nothing, I can assure you that this is not always true. The next time I encounter a cavernous void, I shall remember to refrain from breaking out the mountaineering gear and lowering myself by rope into the abyss. It’s not unheard of to have random people walk across site, oblivious to signs warning of deep trenches, only to ask if treasure has been found. But the closest I have come to a fiery ending was when a machine driver, perhaps a little heavy-handed, decided to dig a little too close to a gas service.

As our heroes pieced together the evidence, ripping artefacts from the trench without a context sheet in sight and in immaculate attire without a hard hat or hi-vis jacket to be seen, I wondered if any of them were aware of the budget code or had filled out this week’s time sheet. The large expensive flat owned by one of the team, and the swanky laboratory, seemed a little far fetched but I look forward to brandishing my museum ID card in an authoritative FBI-style fashion to see what privileges it brings me.

The final scenes produced the declaration “please, please, for the love of Jehovah, may we go to the pub?” and with that came perhaps the most accurate portrayal of the archaeologist.

Myrofora Neoptolemou, Newcastle University Museum Studies MA student writes:

As part of my MA Museum Studies course, I had my two months work experience at the Museum in Docklands and Museum of London. An informal appointment in advance with Frazer Swift, the Head of Learning, to discuss both sides’ expectations, turned out to be very useful. I expected to gain for my placement a wide experience of museum’s operations/activities. Therefore Frazer wisely decided to split my placement into the Access & Learning Department for the first month and Early London History and Collections Department for the second. In this way he successfully satisfied my expectations as I could experience learning and curatorial job of the museum as well!

For the first moment it was clear that the museum respected its volunteers and is interested not only gaining from them, but also offering them experience that will increase their knowledge, develop their skills and be useful for their career progression. All the museum staffs were so friendly and helpful. Even I know I will soon forget the names, I am sure I will always have their smiley faces engraved in my memory! Good communication and relationships amongst the members of any organisation is of vital importance. It makes your work even more interesting, exciting and inspiring!

Kirsty Sullivan was my supervisor while working in the Access & Learning Department. Working with her it was just a pleasure! I was first involved in the evaluation procedures which sounds like a bit of boring paperwork. I found so useful to know what visitors think about the services and helpful for constantly improving them, trying to satisfy different people’s needs and expectations. In this way each visitor is faced as an individual, given the opportunity to express his/her opinion and feel crucial and valued as his/her voice is heard.

In addition, I attended several sessions for primary and secondary schools, groups with special educational needs, families, toddlers (under 5’s) and carers and adult tours. I feel so lucky because the museum has full programmes of various events and sessions such as storytelling, drama and object handling. Schools sessions were designed to be relevant to the National Curriculum. The freelancers, who led the sessions, catered for different classes’ needs and used their prior knowledge to be flexible and adapt the sessions’ structure.

My work experience coincided with the opening of the Jack the Ripper and the East End exhibition. I was interested in creating the exit evaluation questionnaires of this temporary exhibition and I was given the chance! I had never developed a questionnaire, but with Frazer’s and Kirsty’s co-operation and step by step advice, I managed to put together a questionnaire which matched what the members of the project team wanted to find out. Then Frazer edited it and cut down a lot of questions. He has plenty of experience in evaluations and he respects the time taken by the museum’s visitors to fill in a questionnaire! The last step was interviewing people and getting a sample of 100. This was a challenge! I tried to be smiley and kind with the visitors while asking whether they would like to help the museum evaluating the exhibition. I tried being smiley even after people refused, which was not the easiest thing, I have to admit! It is amazing how different people feel about the same artefacts and how they react alternatively to the messages communicated in the exhibition! The whole activity was very informative and useful and I found it was an enjoyable experience thoroughly!

In response to Nigel’s post, ‘Life as a medieval and later pottery specialist in the Museum of London Archaeology Service‘, mary lane garmon said:

What an incredibly interesting article! I recently visited London and found some pottery shards on the banks of the Thames, in particular a pie shaped piece of white clay, very rough, covered on all sides with a translucent green glaze. It looks like something used in a kiln. Do you have any idea about what this might have been used for? Thank you.

addendum: a pie piece shape, triangular I meant to say, as if it had been cut from a circle, and fits in the palm of the hand. It is less than an inch thick.

Nigel responds, “is it possible to send an image? If not, then your observation could be correct, between the 17th to the 19th century, the south bank of London had many pot houses making stoneware and tin-glazed wares. The waste products from these industries are commonly found on the Thames foreshore, something I’ve witnessed on my own wanderings on the banks of the Thames”.

While I had Nigel in my office, I asked about the difference between sherds and shards - are they the same thing? Yes, was the simple answer. Shards is jargon from the antique trade, and sherds is an archaeological term.

Museum in Docklands was about to open its first ever major exhibition and the press team felt that something special was needed to mark this momentous occasion. We knew what we wanted it to involve; Jack the Ripper and the East End, web 2.0 and the public - but how would we use those ingredients to create a magical mix?

Naturally, we would kindly ask members of the public to transform themselves into East End street urchins and pretend to sell newspapers, screaming the headlines at the top of their voices. The Jack the Ripper video was born. I was volunteered to take to the streets of London armed with a digital camera, tripod and props to find willing participants.

Day 1 was spent in Canary Wharf, not far from Museum in Docklands. It was a Friday lunchtime and the square was filled with people whom I presumed would be more than keen to don a flat cap, sandwich board and speak in a cockney accent. Oh how wrong I was. I approached countless people and suffered knockback after knockback until a very lovely chap decided that it was a Friday; he was in the mood for fun and would very much like to be on YouTube for all his mates to see! Inspired by what had just been recorded I fearlessly approached people to persuade them to take part and found some brilliant folk who were more than willing to be filmed. At times small crowds gathered whilst others appeared disinterested but the session had been a success and I left with fantastic footage.

There was a change of location for day 2 of filming, which took place in Covent Garden. Stood upon the cobbles, I once again encountered some rejection before finding video gold. A perfect blend of Londoners and tourists had once again impressed me with their ability to transform themselves into East End street newspaper sellers.

It was then back to the Museum to edit the footage and create the fantastic short films that would form a series online. I am forever grateful to those that took part and helped make the project such a success.

Check out our Facebook and YouTube pages over the coming weeks to see the finished videos. You can also see photographs from the Jack the Ripper exhibition on Flickr and the Museum in Docklands website. Enjoy!

Infectious disease can transmitted by by a range of routes such as viruses, bacteria and injury to the body. Before the discovery of antibiotics, such infections would have been a major cause of death amongst populations. Many of these diseases affect the soft tissues and organs of the body and may lead to the death of an individual before leaving any trace on the skeleton. Some infections, however, do reach the bone itself and may indicate a more longstanding illness or individuals with a strong immune system.

 When infectious disease does reach the skeleton it is shown as inflammation of the bone. This can occur in different ways and at any of the surfaces of the bone. Periostitis is where the outer layer of tissue that covers the cortical bone surface becomes infected and a new layer of bone is formed called woven bone. As this new bone heals it becomes smooth and compacted lamellar bone through remodelling and begins to resemble the original surface. Osteitis is inflammation to the outer cortical bone and osteomyelitis is infection of the inner surface and medullary or middle cavity of the bone. This can lead to destruction of the surrounding bone and a swollen, enlarged appearance as new bone is formed and remodelled changing the original shape. Infection in the middle cavity may be released through the formation of a small hole (sinus) that connects the interior to the exterior surface.

Many of the skeletons analysed at MoLAS show evidence of infection.  Diseases can often affect the bone in similar ways and it is not always possible to diagnose a particular type of illness. These infections are called non-specific and may have a variety of causes. Some infections however, display a certain distribution and type of lesion throughout the skeleton and from this it is possible to determine what disease was present. These are known as specific infections.

 One specific infection found in archaeological remains is tuberculosis. This can be transmitted to humans from cattle through infected milk or more commonly through human to human contact through the respiratory system and affecting the lungs. This can spread to other parts of the body including the skeleton where it mainly affects the spine and the joints of the hip and knee. Osteomyeltis may lead to destructive lesions and septic arthritis at the joints and can result in erosion and fusion of the joint surfaces. In the spine, destructive lesions may lead to collapse of the vertebral bodies causing curvature called a kyphosis.

 Another specific infection that can be seen in the skeleton is treponemal disease that includes syphilis. This may result in inflammation to the skull and face which can become pitted and crater like (caries sicca). In the long bones, infection may cause the bones to become expanded and distorted due to osteomyleitis.  The tibia may become bow shaped (sabre shin) due to remodelling through new bone growth.

Infectious disease affects many people in the world today and continues to be a major casue of death. Study of infection in archaeological skeletons may help us to understand how disease evolves and spreads through modern populations.

I am one of the team working on Jack the Ripper and the East End. I am an archaeological conservator but I often work on projects or exhibitions that are not archaeological. The material for this exhibition is fascinating; I’ve just finished reading the book that accompanies the exhibition so I understand more about the objects that we are installing now in the display cases.

My role has been to act as the link between the exhibition project team and the conservation and collection care staff who prepare the material for display. There are 20 of us in conservation and collection care working at the Museum of London, Museum in Docklands and our resource centre (Mortimer Wheeler House). I am one of the archaeological team; there are also conservators who work on paper, textiles and costume and decorative arts/social history material.

A quarter of the team work in collection care and object handling; they look after the objects in storage and carry out the movement of our collections between our three main locations and sometimes to other museums when objects go out on loan. The conservators also do a lot of collection care work for our stored collections and work on individual objects in our laboratories and workshops. We ensure that the objects are in good condition and carry out treatments when needed. For this exhibition, the conservators worked on a huge variety of objects from wax heads to police uniforms. The paper conservators were kept particularly busy as there are so many paper items, many of them such as police reports and files in poor condition because they were working documents.

There are nearly 200 objects going on display in about 30 cases, on the walls and on open display. Some of the display cases are new so part of my job was to work with the designer to make sure that they are the right type and size for the objects . Conservators are particularly concerned that the cases are stable and secure, dust-proof and made of good quality materials.

We also need to check on the overall conditions for the objects. For this exhibition, because there are so many original 19th century documents, light is our biggest concern. Many of the documents have writing in ink which is already faded. The light levels will need to be low to keep any further fading to a minimum. Just before the exhibition opens, we will check every case to make sure the light is within the right levels. Luckily the designer wants a dark, atmospheric look!

The most challenging part of the work has been working out how to fit all the material into the cases. Some of the cases only have a few items, say two documents relating to one of the victims. Others have many objects made of many different materials. Each case has to be carefully planned so that everything fits and is well supported. The designer started this process many months ago working with the curator, Julia Hoffbrand.

The next step was to work from the plans and try out mockups of each case to see how the objects fitted into the cases and if they needed supports. A small team of us, a curator (Jackie Keily), our chief technician (Cliff Thomas) and others, started this process in February. It was a challenge as we had to work from photos and records of the objects since so many were coming from other museums or individuals as loans.

We are now putting the objects into cases and it’s great to see everything, some for the first time as couriers bring them from other museums and archives. Maps, prints and plans are also being hung on the walls; this has had its moments with different opinions on how high or low to place things. Luckily our collection care team (Alison Guppy and Paul More) are used to this and are very patient!

A huge amount of other work went into the exhibition before we started with the cases and objects (graphics, set construction, installing the lighting and audio-visuals). It’s all coming together now and with a few more days work (captions are on their way!), will be ready for the opening on the 15th of May.

You can see more photos from the installation of Jack the Ripper and the East End on Flickr.