Osteoarchaeology

This lab is used for teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as for independent lab practice and research by taught and research students.

We hold human skeletal remains from a range of periods and sites across the UK, including:

• 57 skeletons and 60 cremation burials dating to the Roman period from a roadside cemetery in Baldock
• 41 skeletons from a Roman villa site in Lincolnshire
• 68 skeletons from a medieval monastic cemetery at Malmsbury dating to the 12th- to 13th-centuries
• 278 medieval monastic and lay individuals from St James Abbey in Northamptonshire, dating from the 12th- to 16th-century

We also collaborate with commercial archaeological partners in order to gain access to recently excavated skeletal remains, allowing staff and students to conduct original research projects and dissertations on a range of topics. 

Teaching facilities

We have a dedicated, fully equipped osteology laboratory which is adjacent to the skeletal collections' room for easy access to the skeletal remains. 

We have a number of teaching aids to help students with learning human anatomy, including:

• skeletal models
• disarticulated human bone casts
• dental casts
• pubic symphysis casts for age estimation 
• a range of callipers, including sliding coordinate and spreading callipers
• specially designed osteometric boards for calculating living height
• freely accessible anatomy software
• a range of electronically available anatomy and palaeopathology publications