THE remains of a roughly 1,200-year-old woman found on the shores of the River Thames have exposed the brutal punishment practices of early Medieval Britain.
London between 600 to 800 AD, or Lundenwic as it was then known, was a very different place than it is today.
The woman, whose remains have been categorised as UPT90 sk 1278 in museum records, was between the ages of 28 and 40 when she died[/caption]
The River Thames near Blackfriars Bridge, London[/caption]
The settlement, which covered the area of modern-day Covent Garden, was made up of narrow, winding streets and buildings made of timber and straw.
It had a population of roughly 8,000 people – a far cry from the 9.26million residents that live there today.
The remains of one Londoner, believed to have lived during the early medieval period between 680 and 810 AD, act as an example of these practices.
Lawbreakers appeared to be executed in the streets, according to experts, and their bodies were left to decompose for all to see as a warning to others.
The woman, whose remains have been categorised as UPT90 sk 1278 in museum records, was between the ages of 28 and 40 when she died.
She was not buried, but rather sandwiched between two sheets of bark, lying on a mat of reeds with moss pads placed on her face, pelvis, and knees.
When the woman was first excavated in 1991, archaeologists noted that she was likely placed on the foreshore of the Thames where her remains were in public view.
“The burial treatment of UPT90 sk 1278 lets us know that her body was meant to be visible on the landscape, which could be interpreted as a warning to witnesses,” said Dr. Madeline Mant, who studied the remains once they were moved to the London Museum.
Dr. Mant and her colleagues published their findings in the journal World Archaeology.
“We can tell from the osteobiography of this individual and their burial treatment that they were executed, but the specific offense is impossible to know for certain,” she added.
“We can only infer from the law codes of the period.”
Just two weeks before her death, the woman was subject to torturous beatings and an eventual execution, researchers wrote.
Her body was laden with over 50 individual signs of injury, with fractures on her shoulders and spine resembling that of a car accident victim, according to experts.
The researchers believe the 9th-century woman may have been beaten or flogged – where a victim is repeatedly hit with a whip or a stick.
The second round of injuries on her torso and skull suggest the woman was punched or kicked repeatedly, in what experts have likened to torture beatings.
Her execution was a final blow to the left side of her head.
Dr. Mant said her death was likely a form of capital punishment, which were becoming increasingly common in the period the woman is understood to have lived.
“Early Medieval England was a time of change regarding law codes – the law code of Æthelberht (c. 589–616) did not include corporal punishment, but that of Wihtred of Kent (690–725) outlined specific punishments, for instance, beatings for those who could not pay fines,” explained Dr. Mant.
“Capital punishments were also included when willed by the king.
“As time passed, more crimes were associated with the death penalty under King Alfred (871–899).
“Crimes such as theft, treason, witchcraft, and sorcery could be met with the death penalty, which could be brought about by stoning or drowning.”
An illustration of London in the early Medieval period[/caption]
The woman’s diet consisted of terrestrial foods, like grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy, and eggs.
However, her remains show a period of increased stable nitrogen values sometime after she turned 5-years-old.
This could mean the woman either began eating more meat, or she suffered a period of starvation, during which her body began breaking down its own fat and protein stores.
Starvation was a significant threat in early Medieval London, particularly for those who migrated to the city.
