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Excavations at the medieval cemetery of Poulton Chapel, Cheshire, have uncovered over 900 articulated human skeletal remains, with numbers predicted to reach as high as 1500 as excavations continue. The demographics of this archaeological site is typical of a medieval rural assemblage. However, SK535 provides a glimpse into some of the traumatic aspects of medieval life. The excavation of SK535 revealed a middle‐aged adult male around 168 cm in stature. His position of burial was typical of Christian burials with an east‐west orientation, but the positioning of his arms identified that this was not a typical burial. His right arm was flexed at the elbow crossing the thorax, whereas the left arm was in the extended position. This is different from the other arm positions observed at Poulton Chapel. A metal object, identified here as a Type M7 bodkin arrowhead, was recovered from underneath the right arm, from within the thorax. This arrowhead was potentially armour piercing, and the type was commonly used during the 12th–13th century. Radiocarbon dates obtained for SK535 coincide with the time of the use of this arrowhead. Following the initial assessment, the only other instance of trauma identified in SK535 was a healed transverse fracture to the right distal ulna. Due to the location of Poulton Chapel in Cheshire, SK535 could have been wounded by an arrow carrying the M7 bodkin during English‐Welsh border skirmishes, which occurred frequently during this time period. The demographic profile of this individual indicates a possible professional fighter of the medieval period; however, no firm skeletal evidence of occupation could be provided. Nonetheless, this case study not only highlights the violence experienced during the medieval period but also indicates the ability for the survival of some traumas.

Lacunary heteropolyacids ([α-H8SiW11O39].14H2O) (HSiW11) have been immobilized in a perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymer with pendant side chain -O(CF2)4SO3H on metal oxide as a support using sol-gel method. Infrared spectroscopy revealed a strong interaction between the support material and the HSiW11. The surface morphology of the membrane, studied using the Scanning electron microscopy showed that the uniformly dispersed inorganic HSiW particles immobilized in the membrane have size range of 50-100 nm. The X-ray diffraction data revealed that the heteropolyacids exhibited an amorphous character in the ionomer matrix evident from the broadening of the HPA peaks. Proton conductivity of the HSiW loaded as well as the control membrane has been obtained at 100 and 30% relative humidity in the temperature range of 50-120 oC. The conductivity of the HSiW immobilized membranes increased with the increase in temperature and humidity and was observed to be higher than the control PFSA ionomer membrane.