Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK

Abstract

We have examined the remains of a Pilgrim burial from St Mary Magdalen, Winchester. The individual was a young adult male, aged around 18–25 years at the time of death. Radiocarbon dating showed the remains dated to the late 11th–early 12th centuries, a time when pilgrimages were at their height in Europe. Several lines of evidence in connection with the burial suggested this was an individual of some means and prestige. Although buried within the leprosarium cemetery, the skeleton showed only minimal skeletal evidence for leprosy, which was confined to the bones of the feet and legs. Nonetheless, molecular testing of several skeletal elements, including uninvolved bones all showed robust evidence of DNA from Mycobacterium leprae, consistent with the lepromatous or multibacillary form of the disease. We infer that in life, this individual almost certainly suffered with multiple soft tissue lesions. Genotyping of the M.leprae strain showed this belonged to the 2F lineage, today associated with cases from South-Central and Western Asia. During osteological examination it was noted that the cranium and facial features displayed atypical morphology for northern European populations. Subsequently, geochemical isotopic analyses carried out on tooth enamel indicated that this individual was indeed not local to the Winchester region, although it was not possible to be more specific about their geographic origin.

Leprosy in medieval Denmark: Exploring life histories through a multi‐tissue and multi‐isotopic approach

“…An isotopic dietary reconstruction of individuals with bone lesions of leprosy was also conducted by Roffey et al (2017) for the medieval leprosarium of St. Mary Magdalen in Winchester (England) and by Bayliss et al (2004) for a medieval cemetery in Norwich (England) that was probably also related to a leprosarium . The δ 13 C and δ 15 N results indicate a similar C 3 diet at all sites with small contributions of marine protein.…”

Presenting the Compendium Isotoporum Medii Aevi (CIMA) and Bayesian Case Studies

“…We also estimated, using a combination of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and/or δ 18 O measurements, the place of origin of a young individual (SK27), buried in a high medieval leprosarium in Winchester, UK with a scallop shell typical of a pilgrim who completed the travel to Santiago de Compostela. This individual was previously found to be nonlocal but likely still native to Britain (Roffey et al 2017).…”

Revisiting the tuberculosis and leprosy cross-immunity hypothesis: Expanding the dialogue between immunology and paleopathology

“…Clearly, as cited by other authors, changes in pathogen biology as well as in host immune competence may modify TB morbidity and virulence (Sparacello et al 2016) . As opposed to TB pathogens, different studies on ancient M. leprae genomes have shown that the DNA of the leprosy pathogen did not change significantly in Medieval Europe and therefore pathogen virulence cannot explain leprosy's decline (Donoghue et al 2015;Mendum et al 2014;Roffey et al 2017;Schuenemann et al 2013;Schuenemann et al 2018;Taylor et al 2013). In addition, genetic studies in contemporary populations have shown that the immune genetic variance of the host is a key factor for the progress and outcome of leprosy infection, where candidate genes (alleles) such as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and Toll-like receptors (TLR) show significant correlations with increased susceptibility to leprosy (Alcais et al, 2005;Mira 2006;Wong et al 2010).…”