The Cross Bones Burial Ground, Redcross Way Southwark, London

Résumé du livre

Excavations carried out during 1991-1998 in Redcross Way, Southwark, London produced a sample of 148 burials for analysis from part of the Cross Bones burial ground. This was one of the burialgrounds for the parish of St. Saviour's, Southwark from the 17th century until its closure in 1853. Previous work on post-medieval burials has concentrated on the wealthy members of society,as at Christ Church, Spitalfields. This volume concentrates on a very different section of the community: the poor and destitute who lived in overcrowded houses which were in a bad state ofrepair, with poor drainage and an insufficient and polluted water supply. Analysis of the bones suggests a population who were poorly nourished and more susceptible to infectious diseases.Many succumbed in childhood, as seen by the numbers of infants buried at the site. Those who survived into adulthood have skeletal and dental pathologies which betray their harsh life. Mostwere buried in cheap coffins in a heavily overused and ill-kept burial ground. This volume presents an osteological report on the burials recovered, along with the documented history of theburial ground. It is the first in a series of seven volumes on the results of excavations carried out for the Jubilee Line Extension Project, and also the first in a series on post-medievalburial in London.