The working life of Museum of London

Some of you may remember from my last blog that I mentioned that the Museum of London websites were changing inline with our rebranding to bring together our  venues and values, with new names and logos. We have now completed phase one of redesigning and moving around content on our websites. You can check out our striking new logos and our redesigned websites at:

• www.museumoflondon.org.uk
• www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands
• www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archaeology

In phase two and three, we will be auditing all our websites, holding audience evaluations to find out what our visitors think, and planning and implementing the migration of all our websites into one single site. This will involve analysis of our current website structures and planning the future architecture and redesigning of all the templates within our websites, including our microsites.

We would love to find out what you think of the websites and how it might develop in the future. So tell us what you think of the sites and the new ‘tabs’ that combine all our three venues together by sending me your comments to: webmanager@museumoflondon.org.uk.

Please note that we are aware some things may not display properly or some links may be broken, but please bear with us while we go through this transition period.

Thank you for all your continued support.

  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. 

LAARC has just started a new project - LAARC Volunteer Inclusion Project. The general idea is to create more space in the archive by effective, efficient storage, using the help of 30 volunteers a week.

As well as creating space for future archives, we are also promoting inclusivity and learning opportunities and shall be running specialist workshops for volunteers.

There is a new section of these blog pages specifically for the project so have a look and see what we’re up to.

http://mymuseumoflondon.org.uk/blogs/laarcvip/

As part of the project we welcome back the University of the Third Age (U3A) who shall be improving the archive for MSL87 - one of the Roman Eastern Cemetery Sites. This side of the project has its own website and can be found at:

http://laarcvipu3a.wetpaint.com/

And don’t forget our archaeology blog pages, where each month we run the object of the month competition. Click below to find out September’s winner

http://mymuseumoflondon.org.uk/blogs/archaeology

 Woo hoo! LAARChaeology is taking over!!!

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.

 In this guest post, Tony Grey, Finds Specialist at MoLAS, explains where he goes on his holidays.  He presents surprising parallels between the medieval sugar installation and ancient city at Zoara, southern Jordan, and London.

Starting in 2006 and continuing this year I have been lucky enough to spend leave time working on an archaeological project in Jordan. I would recommend this way of spending some leave time to anyone from MoLAS.

The project is based at two discrete sites near the village of Safi in southern Jordan near the southern end of the Dead Sea. The project was inspired by and jointly run by Dr K. D. Politis (Dino) head of the Hellenic Society for Near Eastern Research. The first excavation season took place in 2002 run by Dino and Glasgow University. Subsequent seasons have run from 2006-8 with the excavations carried out by Adelaide University.

The Tawahin es-Sukhar site is that of a medieval sugar mill while around 500 metres distant is the site of the ancient and medieval city of Zoara which is shown on the early Byzantine mosaic Madaba map. My job was to identify and record the post-Bronze Age pottery from both sites.

The sugar installation was in use from roughly the 12th/13th century to the 15th century. Sugar cane was widely grown in the Jordan Valley and Levant coast in this period. Water from the hills above the Valley was led by channel to a drop where it turned mill wheels that crushed the cane. The cane was then boiled in iron vats and the juice poured into pottery moulds and jars. An upper sugar cone jar sat in a lower molasses collecting jar. The refined fraction was cooled and solidified in the upper jar which then had to be broken to remove the sugar loaf. The heavy molasses fraction passed to the lower collecting jar. Hence the site has huge mounds of broken sugar pots. Several other similar sites are known in the Levant.

This refining technology was used in the same way for several centuries. By the 16th century Cyprus was a major producer for the European market. By the 18th century the centre of gravity of production was located in the Caribbean. Sugar was refined using raw sugar from the Caribbean in 18th century York and Southampton. It was also refined in London at several sites such as Bishopsgate Goods Yard (BGX05) where the sugar cone pots are much slimmer and narrower than the pots used in the medieval Levant and at Limehouse (Jarret 2005).

I attempted to form a sugar pot typology based on published parallels. It appears that the industry may have begun at this site by the time the Crusaders arrived on the scene for a short duration in the 12th century. Certainly the sugar pots along with other pottery were manufactured at the site as evidenced by wasters.

In all the excavation seasons separate digs explored parts of the ancient and medieval city. Nabataean architectural stone and small sherds of pottery date to around the 2nd century BC. Roman, Early Byzantine and medieval (Islamic) periods follow with a mosaic floor dating possibly to the 7th or 8th century AD uncovered this year. Huge quantities of pottery awaited me. Some had been packed wet and had to be laid out to dry. Beautiful sherds of high status early glazed wares may have been imports from the Iraq region as well as being locally made. Moulded cream ware jugs of the Abassid period jostled with pieces of cooking pot, jars and basins. The material included a few sherds of Early Byzantine orange burnished dishes and bowls classified as Late Roman Fine Ware by John Hayes (1972). Later glazed wares were common along with a few pieces that may belong to the Crusader 12th century. The pottery indicates a termination of occupation at the site by the 15th century in the Mamluk period. This later period was characterised by glazed fritwares imported from Syria, handmade painted coarsewares and by the pottery of the sugar production industry.

Petrological analysis and glaze analysis have been carried out on material from the first excavation season at Glasgow University and we await publication of the results.

This has been a wonderful opportunity to handle a wealth of ceramic material from this interesting and beautiful part of the world and I hope that I will be able to return to complete the job as much pottery still remains to be recorded in the dig house where a day’s work is concluded with a refreshing glass of arak and ice watching the sun go down over the Jordan Valley.

  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

You can find out the winner of July’s Object of the Month Competition by following the link to the archaeology blog site:

http://mymuseumoflondon.org.uk/blogs/archaeology/2008/08/08/julys-winner/

Dave Sankey, Senior Archaeologist for the Museum of London Archaeology Service, writes:

“If you wander around St Paul’s Cathedral, you’ll see some curious modern pavements in the South Churchyard, opened this summer. The area has been landscaped following small “evaluation” trenches excavated by Robin Wroe-Brown and his team and a watching brief on the initial landscaping excavations by David Sankey and Aleks Cetera, with expert input by the then diocesan archaeological advisor John Schofield.

The “new” pavement is a modern representation of the remains of the medieval church and illustrates the square cloister surrounding the octagonal chapter house.  [Image from the Telegraph article, St Paul’s Cathedral opens new South Churchyard]

The new design is a simplified version of the original. For instance, the original pavement of the chapterhouse (a building attached to a cathedral, church, or monastery and used as a meeting place for the religious fraternity) had different-sized panels near the door on the west side and equal -sized panels in the east (see photo below).  These floor panels are equal-sized throughout the new version.

The medieval internal pier-bases and ribs (below) were far more intricately carved.    However, the use of Purbeck stone for paving and the ribs and yellow limestone for the walls does accurately represent the original materials.  It would be wrong to quibble about detail when what has been achieved is a worthy attempt to evoke the medieval cathedral that lies below.  After all, to accurately represent the originals would require a tall structure that would obscure the view of Wrens cathedral, and a user-friendly picnic or meeting area with modern wheelchair access to the cathedral.

Rather, I’d encourage anyone to mentally wander around the space and imagine the tall chapterhouse with it’s imposing buttresses dividing large stained-glass windows, surrounded by the square 2-storey cloister with open tracery on the ground floor, overlooking the minuscule lawns. And the hunched figures of medieval clerics, plotting or worrying about relations with the king or the Pope in Rome, or the rival Pope in Avignon. Even if you can’t visit it, you might get the picture.”

This video explains more about the old St Paul’s Cathedral.

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.