Posted on 08/11/2013 10:31:09 AM PDT by Renfield
Established in 1247, the notorious Bethlem (“Bedlam”) Royal Hospital was the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe and possibly the most famous specialist facility for care and control of the insane, so much so that the word ‘bedlam’ has long been synonymous with madness and chaos. Now, in a spectacular discovery, archaeologists have uncovered the asylum’s ancient graveyard right in the heart of London, revealing as many as 20,000 skeletons.
The 500-year-old graveyard was found during excavations to create a 13-mile high speed tunnel under Central London. Modern-day residents and visitors going about their busy daily lives have been oblivious to the fact that below them, under what is now Liverpool Street Station, the remains of thousands of Londoners including many patients from the Bedlam asylum were laid to rest.
“Everyone's been running around in Liverpool Street for years and not thinking that they've been walking around on bodies from one of the densest burial grounds in London,” said Nick Elsden, a Museum of London archaeologist.
The 16th-century burial ground was built on the original site of the Bethlem Hospital and as well as serving the hospital itself, it was also used to relieve the pressure from overcrowded cemeteries throughout London. It was particularly associated with religious non-conformists, as it was not attached to a church. One of the more famous individuals thought to be buried there is Robert Lockyer, a member of the radical Leveller movement, who was executed by firing squad at St Paul's Cathedral after leading an army mutiny in 1649. Archaeologists are hoping to find his remains amongst the 20,000 other individuals buried there.
The remains of around 4,000 people will have to be disinterred, and will be studied for clues about their lifestyle before being reburied elsewhere.
But thousands of bodies are not the only items to have been recovered from the dig. Incredibly, archaeologists have found everything from reindeer and mammoth bones dating back 68,000 years to a Mesolithic tool-making facility, numerous 2,000-year-old horseshoes, an entire stretch of Roman road, the remains of a Tudor manor house, medieval ice skates, an 800-year-old piece of a ship, and rare Roman coins.
'This site is a rare, perhaps unprecedented opportunity,' Mr Elsden said. 'This is a major roadway outside one of London's busiest railway stations. You don't get to dig that up normally.'
An excellent version for my collection. Thank you Fatima!
I saw “20,000 skeletons discovered under London” and thought it referring to victims of socialized medicine.....Actually, it is. Philadelphia State Hospital was originally built back in the 1600’s as a farm to put drunks, Indians and retards out of the way of ‘normal’ society. They were chained, worked as slaves and many other sanctioned abuses. The farmer picked them up and took them to work which gave them a modicum of worth. Didn’t cost the taxpayer much until the Dems hired Union workers in the ‘60’s. The level of care and living conditions actually decreased then. Modern medicine (used facetiously) didn’t catch up in Philly State ever since that happened. A famous movie starlet had her daughter put in there ( I want to say Olivia Dehaviland, but I can’t be sure. I saw the records 30 years ago)and she was raped continuosley by the staff.
;-)
I was going for 5 Million Years to Earth, but Quatermass and the Pit was plenty close enough.
Thanks for the depressing glimpse of our medical past — and likely future under Obamacare :-)
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