The working life of Museum of London

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!!!

July’s objects can be found on the archaeology blog pages - the winner will be revealed on Friday August 8th.

http://mymuseumoflondon.org.uk/blogs/archaeology/2008/08/01/object-of-the-month-july-08/

“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.

Many of the skeletons excavated at archaeological sites include the bones of those aged less than eighteen years of age at death. The buried population of the Catholic mission of St Mary and St Michael, Lukin Street, East London included over 400 child skeletons.  The majority of these children were aged between one and five years when they died suggesting a low chance of survival into adulthood for those inflicted by disease. 

This cemetery revealed individuals buried in wooden coffins, placed into deep graves with many stacked on top of each other.  The recovered skeletons were found to be very well preserved.  The good condition of these burials enabled bone changes to be seen that are often lost through erosion or damage over time when buried in the ground. This provided an important opportunity to see what life was like for children growing up in the Victorian era, the hardships they faced and illnesses suffered.

 A large proportion of the children recorded displayed signs of metabolic disorders. These can be caused by malnutrition and deficiencies in diet that can affect growth and prevent the development of strong and healthy bones.

 Seventy eight (11:1%) of the child skeletons showed signs of active rickets caused by a lack of vitamin D within the body that is normally obtained through exposure to sunlight and a healthy diet. Deficiency of vitamin D can result in weakened bones that become bowed as they are unable to support the bodies weight. The bone changes observed included areas of pitting to the surfaces of the skull, bent and deformed arms and legs with thick, widened ends and ribs that flared out towards the ends. 

Another disease observed in the child population was scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C in the diet. Once the scourge of sailors on long sea voyages, a poor diet lacking in fresh fruit and vegetables can lead to vitamin C deficiency. This can result in bleeding into the skin and tissues surrounding the bones and tooth sockets and lead to impaired bone growth. Bone changes for this condition were recorded in forty two (6%) of children, these included porosity and pitting to regions of the skull and roof of the eye sockets and new bone formation to the surfaces of the long bones.

Diseases such as these would have thrived in the smog filled air, poorly sanitised and over crowded living conditions of 19th century London. The fast growing population living in poor conditions often with limited access to water, fresh food or waste disposal created an environment where infectious disease was common and many sick children may have been kept indoors away from the important sunlight. Swaddling, the practice of wrapping infants in tightly fitting blankets in order to restrict movement and malnourished mothers feeding their children with deficient milk may have also played a role.

Recently, a resurgence of these diseases amongst children has been reported. The knowledge gained from the bones of those afflicted in the past can help us to better understand the causes of such conditions and promote awareness of the recurrence in the modern world.