Wagamaga OP t1_j8wbjkj wrote
The rare and unusual life of an anchoress, a woman who devoted her life to prayer while living in seclusion, has been unearthed by the University of Sheffield and Oxford Archaeology, thanks to a skeletal collection now held at the University.
Analysis of the collection, which includes a staggering 667 complete skeletons dated to the Roman, Medieval, and Civil War era, has revealed one in particular that is likely Lady Isabel German, an important anchoress - or type of religious hermit - who is documented to have lived at All Saints Church in Fishergate, York during the 15th century.
As an anchoress, Lady German would have chosen to live a life of seclusion. Living inside a single room of the church without direct human contact, she would have devoted herself to prayer and accepted charity to survive.
Skeleton SK3870 was discovered in 2007 during excavations at what was once All Saints Church on the site of the famous York Barbican. Not found in the cemetery alongside the others skeletons in the collection, this medieval woman was buried in a tightly crouched position within the apse of the church foundations, a small room located behind the altar.
Only clergy, or the very rich were buried inside churches at this time, so the new study suggests the location of this highly unusual burial makes SK3870 a prime candidate to be that of the All Saints’ anchoress, Lady German.
Dr Lauren McIntyre, University of Sheffield Alumna and Osteoarchaeologist at Oxford Archaeology Limited, conducted the analysis of the historical and osteoarchaeological evidence, which included using radiocarbon dating and isotopic investigation to examine skeleton SK3870.
conventionalWisdumb t1_j901x8s wrote
That’s really early in the timeline for syphilis in Europe isn’t it? Is it a known thing that the Colombian Exchange came east prior to Columbus? I know small pox reached the Americas prior due to fishermen, never thought syphilis would have hitched a ride on the trip back.
yohohoanabottleofrum t1_j92jtts wrote
Ok, your comment got me wondering as it seemed like if it was originally from the Americas, it would have been the first disease I'd hear about doing this. Here's an NIH article on the history....https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3956094/#:~:text=The%20endemic%20syphilis%20emerged%20from,arid%20climate)%20around%207000%20BC.
conventionalWisdumb t1_j92pdke wrote
Hmmm… …seems like the origins are still being debated. This hermit dig does seem to provide evidence of pre-Colombian syphilis in Europe but it’s still ambiguous whether the disease we know it as today came to Europe via the Americas. A similar finding from a century or two earlier would be more conclusive though one could still make the argument that Vikings could have brought it to Europe though that seems like a huge stretch considering the first recorded outbreak was in Naples in 1494/5. The European origin still has many plausible hypotheses between it being confused with leprosy and the possibility that the outbreak in Naples was from a mutation of a precursor. So yeah…. …who knows.
yohohoanabottleofrum t1_j93ly65 wrote
Super interesting. Especially the way it was blamed on out groups. I'd be interested to see if it's found on any pre Columbian corpses in the new world. Either way, it's an extremely interesting intersection of biology and sociology.
conventionalWisdumb t1_j94i8ze wrote
It is. There’s plenty of evidence of it in the Americas.
kptkrunch t1_j9070u8 wrote
Ah, you see the hypocrisy!? I show up after the funeral processions with a shovel and everyone's up in arms--some fancy college folk start their own "skeleton collection" from unearthed remains and we all nod in approval! At least I was gonna put 'em back
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