Skeletons discovered at a former Oxford hospital site have revealed shocking new insights into the 'brutal' lives of 400 people.
Evidence of accidents, amputations, early surgical experiments and more was discovered in a closer analysis of bones excavated from the old Radcliffe Infirmary burial site, off Woodstock Road – now being developed by Oxford University.
The skeletons, which are practically all unidentified, form the largest collection of individuals to have been excavated from an 18th to 19th-century hospital burial ground in the country.
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Some of the remains date back more than 200 years and provide insight into hospital conditions in an era before anaesthesia, sterile operating theatres and antiseptics.
The burial ground was used for working-class patients who had died in the hospital and were not claimed for burial in their home parish.
Most of the graves were laid out in rows, but two small groups of disorganised burials were found which made researchers wonder if they had been hurriedly made during an epidemic, but no evidence was found to support this.
Most of the skeletons belonged to adult males who had been working in Oxford and the surrounding region and were admitted to the hospital following horrific accidents in the workplace.
Some of the skeletons had body parts removed for use as teaching specimens by Oxford University’s medical students, a practice legally permitted after 1832 but it is unknown whether the Radcliffe examples are from before or after this.
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Comparing these findings to others, Oxford Archeology osteologist Helen Webb said: "What we do know is that the anatomists weren’t treating the Radcliffe patients the same way in which they were treating them at the Royal London hospital.
"It is known that the governors of the Radcliffe hospital were strongly opposed to anatomisation and this seems to have been observed here."
Accidents involving trains, threshing machines and printing machines were the most common, reflecting the influence of the railway, the printing press and farming at the time.
The biggest cause of death however was shown to be infection, as hospitals were a breeding ground for disease during those times due to overcrowding and lack of sanitation.
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William Waterstone, from Ireland, one of the excavated individuals who was identified, was killed while working as a fireman on the railway. He had extensive wounds on his spine and chest from a massive impact.
Meanwhile, a teenager had fractured the side of their skull and had a circle of bone removed to try and stop it from pressing on his brain.
Other trauma seen included broken ribs, fists, heads, faces and noses, suggesting that fights were also common.
Broken hand bones may have resulted from organised boxing.
The new findings have been published in a new book titled The Patients' Story: Dr Radcliffe's Legacy in the Age of Hospitals. Excavations at the 18th-19th century Radcliffe Burial Ground, Oxford.
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Senior osteologist at Oxford Archaeology Dr Louise Loe said: "It has been an enormous privilege to study these skeletons and we are very grateful for this opportunity.
"The great results were only possible due to very dedicated teams at Oxford University and Oxford Archaeology. The knowledge that we have gained of the hospital during its early years is immeasurable.
"Although a lot has been written about the early hospital, there has never, until now, been an opportunity to study the remains of the patients themselves and this is really rather special."
She pointed out a particularly important finding, on evidence of sacrectomy which is where the base of the spine is removed.
It may possibly be the earliest physical example to have been discovered archaeologically.
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Dr Loe said: "This is an important discovery because it shows how advanced surgery was at the Radcliffe, at a time when Oxford’s reputation for medicine had dwindled compared with elsewhere in the country."
The remains themselves were dug up in 2013 at what is now the site of the university's Blavatnik School of Government on Walton Street, then under construction.
The burial ground was in use from 1770, when the hospital first opened, until 1855.
The skeletons are to be reburied in Botley Cemetery, Oxford, when the study is complete.
Diocesan Archaeological Advisor Julian Munby said: "It had almost been forgotten that the long-abandoned Infirmary burial ground had actually remained consecrated, but this allowed for the controlled investigation and removal of an unusual and important group of human remains before it was de-consecrated and built over, made possible by the full support of the University at all stages."
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