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The Beaker Period 2500 - 1700 BC

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QEQM Hospital Margate

Link - The skeletons

The Beaker burial
Condition
Sex
Age
The skull
The spine
The pelvis
The arm bones
The leg bones

The secondary burial
Condition
Sex
Age
Stature
The skull
The pelvis
The arm bones
The leg bones
QEQM Hospital, Margate

Link - The skeletons
Susan and Paul excavating the QEQM Beaker burial
Photo by TTA


The human remains were subjected to specialist analysis by Dr. Sarah Tatham. The information below has been summarised from her report (Tatham 2006).
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The Beaker burial
The QEQM Beaker burial

Photo by Susan Deacon (TTA)


Small scale in centimetre divisions

Large scale in 10 centimetre divisions
The QEQM Beaker burial
The QEQM Beaker burial

The QEQM Beaker burial

Photo by Susan Deacon (TTA)


Scale in centimetre divisions
Condition
Sarah Tatham reported that the burial showed extensive surface erosion and fragmentation, though was remarkably complete considering the length of inhumation. All areas were well represented with the exception of hands and feet and some crushed parts of the skull.

Stature could not be reliably determined however.
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Sex
The bones were those of a strong, muscular male adult who led an active, physical life.
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Age
Contradictory age markers made aging difficult, but the general condition of the bones suggested a mature adult of 40—50 years with substantial age and activity-related changes, notably in the lower spine.
The QEQM Beaker burial

Photo by Susan Deacon (TTA)


Small scale in centimetre divisions

Large scale in 10 centimetre divisions
The QEQM Beaker burial
The skull of the QEQM Beaker burial

Chew Beaker

Photo by TTA
The skull
Tooth wear was commensurate with an individual of 25-35 years of age (Brothwell 1981), but this is an unreliable age marker and more likely indicated that his diet did not require the excessive grinding of his teeth. The upper maxilla had complete dentition (including wisdom teeth) and no signs of disease.
The QEQM Beaker burial

The QEQM Beaker burial

Photo by Susan Deacon (TTA)


Small scale in centimetre divisions

Large scale in 10 centimetre divisions
The spine

The vertebrae showed much pitting and age-related changes, with extensive osteophytes (and notably the beginnings of kyphosis) present in the last two lumbar and first sacral vertebrae).
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The pelvis

The pelvis showed no signs of diseases such as arthritis.

The arm bones

The right arm bone had strong muscle attachments.
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The leg bones

Both leg bones also showed strong muscle attachments and no signs of arthritis.





The secondary burial
The secondary burial at QEQM

Photo by TTA


Scale in 10 centimetre divisions
The secondary burial at QEQM
The position of the secondary grave and burial cut into the edge of the Beaker grave
at QEQM

m

The rectangular shape of the Beaker grave is actually the part-excavated fill of the proposed coffin-structure

This is surrounded by a chalk backfill which blends into the natural chalk beyond, making the large oval shape of the grave cut hard to see.

Photo by TTA
Condition

 As with the Beaker burial, this skeleton also showed extensive surface erosion and fragmentation, though was remarkably complete considering the length of inhumation. All areas were well represented with the exception of hands and feet and some crushed parts of the skull.

No evidence of disease or injury had survived post-mortem bone erosion.

Sex

The bones were those of an adult female.
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Age

 Combined age markers suggested that this female was between 25-35 years of age.


Stature
The left humerus (arm bone) was the only complete bone of the skeleton and permitted an estimate of the maximum stature of the individual as 1.59m.
The secondary burial at QEQM

Photo by TTA


Scale in 10 centimetre divisions
The secondary burial at QEQM


The skull
The mandible (lower jaw) was almost complete and the teeth free of disease, though the presence of some calculus (plaque) may have caused gum disease. Dental attrition suggested an age of 17-25 years (Brothwell 1981), though this wear is also related to diet.


The pelvis

Evidence from the pelvis suggested that this bone was free of injury and disease.
The secondary burial at QEQM

The secondary burial at QEQM

Photo by TTA
The arm bones

The left humerus (upper arm bone) had well defined muscle markers and gave evidence of an active life. It was the only complete bone of the skeleton.

The right clavicle (shoulder) also showed evidence of strong muscle attachments.


The leg bones

The diaphysis of the left tibia and fibula (lower leg bones) showed high levels of muscle use.





Abbreviations

TTA - Trust for Thanet Archaeology.


Bibliography

Brothwell D. 1981. (Precise details unknown).

Tatham S. 2006. The Human Bone in Gardner O.W. and Moody G.A. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, St. Peter’s Road, Margate, Kent. Trust for Thanet Archaeology report, Part 4.


Acknowledgments

Much thanks goes to Dr. Sarah Tatham for her analysis of the skeletons.

Thanks also to John Villette for the use of the 1 metre black and white photographic scale.


The text is the responsibility of the author; the photographs are by members of the Trust for Thanet Archaeology (credited where known) unless otherwise stated.


Paul Hart

Version 1 - Posted 16.12.06
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