The excavations in the cemetery of the former St. Peter’s church in Berlin, between 2007 and 2009... more The excavations in the cemetery of the former St. Peter’s church in Berlin, between 2007 and 2009 and in 2015, uncovered the remains of 3,196 graves containing 3,865 individual skeletons. The church was the oldest in the city of Cölln, the sister city of Berlin, into which it was later subsumed, and the cemetery was in use from the middle of the 12th century to 1717. An international collaborative project “Medieval Space and Population” was set up with financial support from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin, and logistical support from Humboldt University, Berlin, to investigate the individuals (“the earliest Berliners”) buried in St. Peter’s cemetery, using modern analytical techniques in stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, osteology, ancient DNA and stable isotopes. A rapid assessment method for the skeletal remains, using the Museum of London system, allowed basic data on the preservation, completeness, age and sex of all individuals to be recorded, as well as more in depth data on pathological changes and trauma. The stratigraphic analysis allowed phases of burial to be separated into one hundred year bands, which permitted detailed changes over time in the demographic makeup and pathological conditions of the population to be investigated. Ancient DNA analysis is currently in progress and is focusing on human DNA from four multiple burials, in order to investigate family relationships between the individuals. Strontium isotope analysis is being used to investigate the geographic origins of individuals from the cemetery, with the majority of the 37 samples so far analysed showing strontium values consistent with having grown up in Cölln. However, there was a variety of signatures recorded, suggesting that some individuals were incomers to the area. Animal teeth were also tested and revealed non-local signatures, indicating that they had not been raised in Cölln and that the population must have been eating meat traded from other regions.
Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies 2014
In September 2013 an international collaborative project was launched involving the Humboldt-Univ... more In September 2013 an international collaborative project was launched involving the Humboldt-University of Berlin, Museum of London Archaeology (MoLA) and, since 2014, Allen Archaeology. It centres on the osteological study of the medieval population of Berlin’s former twin town Cologne (Cölln on the river Spree, not to be mistaken with Köln, the former Roman town on the river Rhine), recorded by the excavations at St. Peters Square (Berlin-centre) from 2007-2009 and the osteological data from the London Spitalfields’ cemetery excavation.
The excavations in the cemetery of the former St. Peter’s church in Berlin, between 2007 and 2009... more The excavations in the cemetery of the former St. Peter’s church in Berlin, between 2007 and 2009 and in 2015, uncovered the remains of 3,196 graves containing 3,865 individual skeletons. The church was the oldest in the city of Cölln, the sister city of Berlin, into which it was later subsumed, and the cemetery was in use from the middle of the 12th century to 1717. An international collaborative project “Medieval Space and Population” was set up with financial support from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin, and logistical support from Humboldt University, Berlin, to investigate the individuals (“the earliest Berliners”) buried in St. Peter’s cemetery, using modern analytical techniques in stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, osteology, ancient DNA and stable isotopes. A rapid assessment method for the skeletal remains, using the Museum of London system, allowed basic data on the preservation, completeness, age and sex of all individuals to be recorded, as well as more in depth data on pathological changes and trauma. The stratigraphic analysis allowed phases of burial to be separated into one hundred year bands, which permitted detailed changes over time in the demographic makeup and pathological conditions of the population to be investigated. Ancient DNA analysis is currently in progress and is focusing on human DNA from four multiple burials, in order to investigate family relationships between the individuals. Strontium isotope analysis is being used to investigate the geographic origins of individuals from the cemetery, with the majority of the 37 samples so far analysed showing strontium values consistent with having grown up in Cölln. However, there was a variety of signatures recorded, suggesting that some individuals were incomers to the area. Animal teeth were also tested and revealed non-local signatures, indicating that they had not been raised in Cölln and that the population must have been eating meat traded from other regions.
Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies 2014
In September 2013 an international collaborative project was launched involving the Humboldt-Univ... more In September 2013 an international collaborative project was launched involving the Humboldt-University of Berlin, Museum of London Archaeology (MoLA) and, since 2014, Allen Archaeology. It centres on the osteological study of the medieval population of Berlin’s former twin town Cologne (Cölln on the river Spree, not to be mistaken with Köln, the former Roman town on the river Rhine), recorded by the excavations at St. Peters Square (Berlin-centre) from 2007-2009 and the osteological data from the London Spitalfields’ cemetery excavation.
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excavations at St. Peters Square (Berlin-centre) from 2007-2009 and the osteological data from the London Spitalfields’ cemetery excavation.
excavations at St. Peters Square (Berlin-centre) from 2007-2009 and the osteological data from the London Spitalfields’ cemetery excavation.