The skeletons of a mother and her child buried side-by-side are among those which are to be excavated from an ancient burial ground after being disturbed during construction for London's Crossrail.
Archaeologists have started excavating 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam burial ground, which is at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network.
Used from 1569 until at least 1738, including during the Great Plague in 1665, the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow.
It was situated in close proximity to Bethlem Royal Hospital - the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe – and was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as inmates from the asylum.
Bethlem, also known as Bedlam - which gave us the phrase "it's like Bedlam in here" - moved to the London suburb of Bromley in 1930, where it remains today.
Crossrail is a 73-mile railway line under construction in London and its environs. It should begin full operation in 2018 with a new east-west route across Greater London. 26 miles of new tunnels and 40 new stations are being constructed.
Bring up your dead! Archaeologists begin excavating 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam Hospital cemetery disturbed by London builders - including tragic mother and child who died together
Work underway to excavate remains from burial site disturbed by Crossrail
About 3,000 skeletons are now to be excavated from Bedlam burial ground
Mother and her child buried side-by-side are among remains to be removed
Cemetery discovered by workers at site for new Liverpool Street rail station
60 archaeologists will work shifts to unearth remains over next four weeks
Crossrail project has found more than 10,000 artefacts at 40 London sites
By Emma Glanfield for MailOnline
10 March 2015
Daily Mail
The skeletons of a mother and her child buried side-by-side are among those which are to be excavated from an ancient burial ground after being disturbed during construction for London's Crossrail.
Archaeologists have started excavating 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam burial ground, which is at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network.
Used from 1569 until at least 1738, including during the Great Plague in 1665, the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow.
It was situated in close proximity to Bethlem Royal Hospital - the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe – and was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as inmates from the asylum.
Skeletons of a mother and child (pictured above) are among those which are to be excavated from the Bedlam burial ground, which is the site for the new Liverpool Street station that will serve London's Crossrail network. The burial ground was used during the Great Plague of London in 1665
Other skeletons at the burial site include that of a mother and her two children (above). Most of the remains are unidentified since the site did not keep its own burial records when it was used between 1569 and 1738
Archaeologists have started excavating 3,000 skeletons (pictured) from the ancient Bedlam burial ground
These two adult skulls were among thousands uncovered at the Bedlam burial ground, which was used during the Great Plague in 1665. The remains will be removed over the next week by a team of archaeologists
A team of 60 archaeologists will work in shifts, six days a week, to excavate the skeletons and gather any other remains at the burial site. The skeletons (pictured above) will then be reburied on consecrated ground
The site, which was uncovered by Crossrail workers who are in the process of building a new ticket hall above the burial ground, is thought to contain the remains of a former lord mayor of London, a notorious criminal and political activists.
The skeletons will be excavated over the next four weeks by a team of 60 archaeologists who will work in shifts, six days a week.
They will carefully remove the remains and record evidence for what may prove to be, in archaeological terms, London's most valuable 16th and 17th Century cemetery site.
After the excavation, the workers will then dig through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains including a road that runs under the site, which has already yielded several interesting Roman artefacts such as horseshoes and cremation urns.
The skeletons will then be reburied on consecrated ground.
Archaeologists are expected to finish on site in September, after which construction will proceed on a new eastern ticket hall by contractor Laing O'Rourke.
Jay Carver, Crossrail lead archaeologist, said: 'This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners.
'The Bedlam burial ground spans a fascinating phase of London's history, including the transition from the Tudor-period city into cosmopolitan early-modern London.
'This is probably the first time a sample of this size from this time period has been available for archaeologists to study in London.
'Bedlam was used by a hugely diverse population from right across the social spectrum and from different areas of the city.'
Archaeologists at the new Livepool Street station (pictured) are expected to finish on site in September
The remains were uncovered during Crossrail construction work, which is set to be completed by 2019
Bones and skeletal remains could be seen at the Bedlam burial site today as workers began excavating them
The Bedlam burial ground opened during London’s response to the plague crisis in the 16th Century
The burial site was the first in London which was not associated with a parish church and so many remains are unknown. Workers could be seen carrying out excavations at the site today ahead of the Crossrail work
TWENTY ROMAN SKULLS UNEARTHED DURING LONDON CROSSRAIL PROJECT
The Crossrail project has already unearthed a number of exciting discoveries, including more than 10,000 artefacts at more than 40 construction sites.
In 2013, workers made an 'unexpected and fascinating discovery' in tunnels underneath Liverpool Street Station, where the historic River Walbrook flows.
The Crossrail team unearthed about 20 Roman skulls which were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary.
The Crossrail team unearthed about 20 Roman skulls in 2013, which had been buried in clusters at Bedlam
Working under the direction of archaeologists, the construction workers carefully removed the human skulls, as well as a collection of ancient Roman pottery.
For safety reasons the archaeologists had to leave the work to the tunnellers as the skulls were buried as deep as six metres below ground.
The discovery of the skulls and pottery was made below the site of the historic Bedlam burial ground.
Bedlam hospital was a psychiatric asylum and patients who died while at the hospital were buried in a cemetery first established in the 16th century.
Historically, Roman skulls have been found along the Thames tributary Walbrook during various excavations in the region.
Prior to the discovery of the Roman skulls, workers also found about 4,000 skeletons buried in the Eldon Street area.
These skeletons were found in August 2013 and were carefully removed during major archaeological excavations last year
The archaeological excavations at Liverpool Street are being undertaken by Museum of London Archaeology on behalf of Crossrail.
Scientific analysis of the remains will help provide new insights into the lives and deaths of early modern Londoners.
Bedlam burial ground was established in 1569 to help parishes cope with overcrowding during outbreaks of the plague and other epidemics.
As well as being used to bury those who were struck down with disease, it also became the site for those who passed away at the nearby Bethlem Royal Hospital - which is thought to have been the world's first mental asylum.
However, with mental patients showing no physical symptoms of illness, determining which of the remains belonged to those treated at the hospital will be near impossible for experts.
Earlier this year, Crossrail-led research identified the names and backgrounds of more than 5,000 people buried at the site.
Names include Sir Ambrose Nicholas, who was lord mayor of London in 1575, and Dr John Lamb (also known as Lam or Lambe), an astrologer and advisor to the First Duke of Buckingham.
Scientific analysis of the remains will help provide new insights into the lives and deaths of Londoners
To date, the Crossrail project has found more than 10,000 artefacts spanning many years of London's past across more than 40 construction sites. Pictured: Workers have started excavation work at the Bedlam site
The archaeological excavations at Liverpool Street are being undertaken by Museum of London Archaeology
Preliminary excavations at the Liverpool Street station site have already uncovered more than 400 skeletons
Lamb was said to have been stoned to death by an angry mob outside a theatre in 1628 following allegations of rape and black magic.
Others identified in the research, carried out by 16 invited volunteers, include victims of riots by 'Fanatiques', noted in the diaries of Samuel Pepys in January 1661.
To date, Crossrail has found more than 10,000 artefacts spanning many years of London's past across more than 40 construction sites. It is the UK's largest archaeology project.
Preliminary excavations at the Liverpool Street site in 2013 and 2014 have already uncovered more than 400 skeletons and numerous artefacts.
After the skeleton excavations, the workers will dig through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains
Jay Carver, Crossrail lead archaeologist, said: 'This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners.' Pictured: Excavations beneath Liverpool Street
An artist's impression of how the new Liverpool Street Crossrail station will look when it is completed
Crossrail workers tunnelling under Liverpool Street station in January
THE PIONEERING MENTAL HOSPITAL WHICH BECAME A BYWORD FOR CHAOS
The Bedlam burial ground, also known as the New Churchyard, was situated near the notorious Bethlem Royal Hospital which opened during London’s response to the plague crisis in the 16th Century.
The burial site was the first in London which was not associated with a parish church and it did not keep its own burial records.
Instead, the City’s parish churches recorded which of their parishioners were buried at Bedlam in their own records.
Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in 1247 and was the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe
The graveyard, built on Bethlem Hospital’s vegetable patch in the 1560s after churchyards around the city started to overflow, was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as inmates from the asylum.
Bethlem Royal Hospital, which quickly became pronounced ‘Bedlam’ by Londoners, was founded in 1247 and was the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe.
It was founded by Goffredo de Prefetti, who had been elected Bishop of Bethlehem, and was originally located just outside the London city wall, on the site of what is now Liverpool Street station.
By 1403, the majority of its patients suffered mental health issues. Others suffered from epilepsy, learning disabilities and dementia.
Bedlam: The scene inside Bethlem Hospital, as depicted by William Hogarth in A Rake's Progress (1732-33)
Due to the hospital's reputation as the principle treatment centre for the insane, a bastardised version of its name - 'Bedlam' - came to signify madness and chaos more generally.
Although it is sometimes thought to have treated its patients cruelly, most were free to walk around the grounds.
Inside the single-storey building that housed 12 cells, a kitchen, staff accommodation and an exercise yard, inmates were manacled and chained – and treated as a tourist attraction by Londoners who paid a penny to stare at them.
Patients, usually poor, were given treatments including restraint, dousing with water, beatings and isolation.
Conditions inside Bedlam were depicted by William Hogarth in his 18th century drawings A Rake’s Progress, charting the decline of a merchant’s son from wealthy heir to asylum inmate, via debtor’s jail.
In 1674, the hospital's governors decided that the institution should move a few hundred yards to the west to Moorfields, with the area's open space thought to be healthier than its original premises.
Bethlem moved again in 1815, to St George's Fields in Southwark, which is now the site of the Imperial War Museum.
A final move came in 1930 when the hospital relocated to the suburb of Bromley. It is now run by the NHS and is considered to be a leading psychiatric hospital.
Bedlam is today situated in Bromley, in the London Borough of Bromley, south east London
Read more: Archaeologists begin excavating skeletons from cemetery disturbed by London builders | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Archaeologists have started excavating 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam burial ground, which is at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network.
Used from 1569 until at least 1738, including during the Great Plague in 1665, the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow.
It was situated in close proximity to Bethlem Royal Hospital - the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe – and was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as inmates from the asylum.
Bethlem, also known as Bedlam - which gave us the phrase "it's like Bedlam in here" - moved to the London suburb of Bromley in 1930, where it remains today.
Crossrail is a 73-mile railway line under construction in London and its environs. It should begin full operation in 2018 with a new east-west route across Greater London. 26 miles of new tunnels and 40 new stations are being constructed.
Bring up your dead! Archaeologists begin excavating 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam Hospital cemetery disturbed by London builders - including tragic mother and child who died together
Work underway to excavate remains from burial site disturbed by Crossrail
About 3,000 skeletons are now to be excavated from Bedlam burial ground
Mother and her child buried side-by-side are among remains to be removed
Cemetery discovered by workers at site for new Liverpool Street rail station
60 archaeologists will work shifts to unearth remains over next four weeks
Crossrail project has found more than 10,000 artefacts at 40 London sites
By Emma Glanfield for MailOnline
10 March 2015
Daily Mail
The skeletons of a mother and her child buried side-by-side are among those which are to be excavated from an ancient burial ground after being disturbed during construction for London's Crossrail.
Archaeologists have started excavating 3,000 skeletons from Bedlam burial ground, which is at the site of the new Liverpool Street station that will serve the cross-London rail network.
Used from 1569 until at least 1738, including during the Great Plague in 1665, the burial site - also known as Bethlehem and the New Churchyard - was opened after graveyards around London started to overflow.
It was situated in close proximity to Bethlem Royal Hospital - the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe – and was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as inmates from the asylum.
Skeletons of a mother and child (pictured above) are among those which are to be excavated from the Bedlam burial ground, which is the site for the new Liverpool Street station that will serve London's Crossrail network. The burial ground was used during the Great Plague of London in 1665
Other skeletons at the burial site include that of a mother and her two children (above). Most of the remains are unidentified since the site did not keep its own burial records when it was used between 1569 and 1738
Archaeologists have started excavating 3,000 skeletons (pictured) from the ancient Bedlam burial ground
These two adult skulls were among thousands uncovered at the Bedlam burial ground, which was used during the Great Plague in 1665. The remains will be removed over the next week by a team of archaeologists
A team of 60 archaeologists will work in shifts, six days a week, to excavate the skeletons and gather any other remains at the burial site. The skeletons (pictured above) will then be reburied on consecrated ground
The site, which was uncovered by Crossrail workers who are in the process of building a new ticket hall above the burial ground, is thought to contain the remains of a former lord mayor of London, a notorious criminal and political activists.
The skeletons will be excavated over the next four weeks by a team of 60 archaeologists who will work in shifts, six days a week.
They will carefully remove the remains and record evidence for what may prove to be, in archaeological terms, London's most valuable 16th and 17th Century cemetery site.
After the excavation, the workers will then dig through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains including a road that runs under the site, which has already yielded several interesting Roman artefacts such as horseshoes and cremation urns.
The skeletons will then be reburied on consecrated ground.
Archaeologists are expected to finish on site in September, after which construction will proceed on a new eastern ticket hall by contractor Laing O'Rourke.
Jay Carver, Crossrail lead archaeologist, said: 'This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners.
'The Bedlam burial ground spans a fascinating phase of London's history, including the transition from the Tudor-period city into cosmopolitan early-modern London.
'This is probably the first time a sample of this size from this time period has been available for archaeologists to study in London.
'Bedlam was used by a hugely diverse population from right across the social spectrum and from different areas of the city.'
Archaeologists at the new Livepool Street station (pictured) are expected to finish on site in September
The remains were uncovered during Crossrail construction work, which is set to be completed by 2019
Bones and skeletal remains could be seen at the Bedlam burial site today as workers began excavating them
The Bedlam burial ground opened during London’s response to the plague crisis in the 16th Century
The burial site was the first in London which was not associated with a parish church and so many remains are unknown. Workers could be seen carrying out excavations at the site today ahead of the Crossrail work
TWENTY ROMAN SKULLS UNEARTHED DURING LONDON CROSSRAIL PROJECT
The Crossrail project has already unearthed a number of exciting discoveries, including more than 10,000 artefacts at more than 40 construction sites.
In 2013, workers made an 'unexpected and fascinating discovery' in tunnels underneath Liverpool Street Station, where the historic River Walbrook flows.
The Crossrail team unearthed about 20 Roman skulls which were found buried in clusters in the sediment of the historic tributary.
The Crossrail team unearthed about 20 Roman skulls in 2013, which had been buried in clusters at Bedlam
Working under the direction of archaeologists, the construction workers carefully removed the human skulls, as well as a collection of ancient Roman pottery.
For safety reasons the archaeologists had to leave the work to the tunnellers as the skulls were buried as deep as six metres below ground.
The discovery of the skulls and pottery was made below the site of the historic Bedlam burial ground.
Bedlam hospital was a psychiatric asylum and patients who died while at the hospital were buried in a cemetery first established in the 16th century.
Historically, Roman skulls have been found along the Thames tributary Walbrook during various excavations in the region.
Prior to the discovery of the Roman skulls, workers also found about 4,000 skeletons buried in the Eldon Street area.
These skeletons were found in August 2013 and were carefully removed during major archaeological excavations last year
The archaeological excavations at Liverpool Street are being undertaken by Museum of London Archaeology on behalf of Crossrail.
Scientific analysis of the remains will help provide new insights into the lives and deaths of early modern Londoners.
Bedlam burial ground was established in 1569 to help parishes cope with overcrowding during outbreaks of the plague and other epidemics.
As well as being used to bury those who were struck down with disease, it also became the site for those who passed away at the nearby Bethlem Royal Hospital - which is thought to have been the world's first mental asylum.
However, with mental patients showing no physical symptoms of illness, determining which of the remains belonged to those treated at the hospital will be near impossible for experts.
Earlier this year, Crossrail-led research identified the names and backgrounds of more than 5,000 people buried at the site.
Names include Sir Ambrose Nicholas, who was lord mayor of London in 1575, and Dr John Lamb (also known as Lam or Lambe), an astrologer and advisor to the First Duke of Buckingham.
Scientific analysis of the remains will help provide new insights into the lives and deaths of Londoners
To date, the Crossrail project has found more than 10,000 artefacts spanning many years of London's past across more than 40 construction sites. Pictured: Workers have started excavation work at the Bedlam site
The archaeological excavations at Liverpool Street are being undertaken by Museum of London Archaeology
Preliminary excavations at the Liverpool Street station site have already uncovered more than 400 skeletons
Lamb was said to have been stoned to death by an angry mob outside a theatre in 1628 following allegations of rape and black magic.
Others identified in the research, carried out by 16 invited volunteers, include victims of riots by 'Fanatiques', noted in the diaries of Samuel Pepys in January 1661.
To date, Crossrail has found more than 10,000 artefacts spanning many years of London's past across more than 40 construction sites. It is the UK's largest archaeology project.
Preliminary excavations at the Liverpool Street site in 2013 and 2014 have already uncovered more than 400 skeletons and numerous artefacts.
After the skeleton excavations, the workers will dig through medieval marsh deposits and Roman remains
Jay Carver, Crossrail lead archaeologist, said: 'This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners.' Pictured: Excavations beneath Liverpool Street
An artist's impression of how the new Liverpool Street Crossrail station will look when it is completed
Crossrail workers tunnelling under Liverpool Street station in January
THE PIONEERING MENTAL HOSPITAL WHICH BECAME A BYWORD FOR CHAOS
The Bedlam burial ground, also known as the New Churchyard, was situated near the notorious Bethlem Royal Hospital which opened during London’s response to the plague crisis in the 16th Century.
The burial site was the first in London which was not associated with a parish church and it did not keep its own burial records.
Instead, the City’s parish churches recorded which of their parishioners were buried at Bedlam in their own records.
Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in 1247 and was the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe
The graveyard, built on Bethlem Hospital’s vegetable patch in the 1560s after churchyards around the city started to overflow, was used to bury London’s poor and religious non-conformists as well as inmates from the asylum.
Bethlem Royal Hospital, which quickly became pronounced ‘Bedlam’ by Londoners, was founded in 1247 and was the first dedicated psychiatric institution in Europe.
It was founded by Goffredo de Prefetti, who had been elected Bishop of Bethlehem, and was originally located just outside the London city wall, on the site of what is now Liverpool Street station.
By 1403, the majority of its patients suffered mental health issues. Others suffered from epilepsy, learning disabilities and dementia.
Bedlam: The scene inside Bethlem Hospital, as depicted by William Hogarth in A Rake's Progress (1732-33)
Due to the hospital's reputation as the principle treatment centre for the insane, a bastardised version of its name - 'Bedlam' - came to signify madness and chaos more generally.
Although it is sometimes thought to have treated its patients cruelly, most were free to walk around the grounds.
Inside the single-storey building that housed 12 cells, a kitchen, staff accommodation and an exercise yard, inmates were manacled and chained – and treated as a tourist attraction by Londoners who paid a penny to stare at them.
Patients, usually poor, were given treatments including restraint, dousing with water, beatings and isolation.
Conditions inside Bedlam were depicted by William Hogarth in his 18th century drawings A Rake’s Progress, charting the decline of a merchant’s son from wealthy heir to asylum inmate, via debtor’s jail.
In 1674, the hospital's governors decided that the institution should move a few hundred yards to the west to Moorfields, with the area's open space thought to be healthier than its original premises.
Bethlem moved again in 1815, to St George's Fields in Southwark, which is now the site of the Imperial War Museum.
A final move came in 1930 when the hospital relocated to the suburb of Bromley. It is now run by the NHS and is considered to be a leading psychiatric hospital.
Bedlam is today situated in Bromley, in the London Borough of Bromley, south east London
Read more: Archaeologists begin excavating skeletons from cemetery disturbed by London builders | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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