Rickets

October 6, 2014ArchaeologyDiseasesArthur

Rickets was once a common bone disease of children. It has a number of potential causes, such as lack of Vitamin D or calcium, which lead to impaired mineralisation of the bone. Whilst Aberdonians in the past would have had a diet fairly rich in fish, which would have helped provide Vitamin D, any population is likely to have some cases of malnutrition. Rickets is usually regarded as a disease of the urban poor because they would probably also suffer from lack of sunlight (we can make Vitamin D in our skin when it is exposed to sunlight) as a result of cramped and smoky living conditions. One of the younger people buried in the grave yard of the Kirk of St Nicholas (and uncovered during the archaeological dig in 2006) had rickets. One of the legs is shown in the photograph. The effect of rickets is to make the bones soft and easily broken. It can be seen how thin and fragile the bone appears, although there is no evidence of a breakage.

The same condition in adults is called osteomalacia, although there can be some other causes as well as diet in adults. It is typically characterised by ‘bent legs’ although it can affect any bone not just those of the legs. The accompanying photograph shows the thigh bones of a person with osteomalacia. The curvature of the bone is very clear, but again this person does not seem to have any fractures.

As a footnote, in recent years there have been report of an increasing incidence in rickets in children. This is not because of poor living conditions but because of a wide and sensible use of sun protection!

Both the photographs, which are copyright of Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections and are used with permission, were taken during the detailed scientific study of the bones by Dr Paul Duffy, Brandanii Archaeology and Heritage who is a specialist osteoarchaeologist.

Grave slabs in St Mary’s Chapel – Part 3

September 25, 2014HistoryGrave slabArthur

Th last of the grave slabs in this series is at the opposite side of the ‘John Fendour’ desk to the Burnet brother’s gravestone.

It is the one shown in this photograph and is for Marjorie Burnet. The inscription for her reads “Heir restis the bodie of Mariorie Bvrnet the loving wyf of Alexander Toasch departed [M]aii 9th 1683 and of her age the 24th yeir” The Bible verse reads “The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance” (Psalm 112, verse 6).

The shield displays both the Burnet and Toash arms. The latter, to the left being those of the man, shows a galley and an arm with the hand grasping a heart, with a ring above. There is a slight difference in the Burnet arms from those shown previously in that this one also has a ring towards the top of the middle holly leaf. It can also be seen that the margin round the edge of the gravestone is blank. It would, as was the tradition, have been left to record the death of Alexander Toash, but the inscription was never made.

One small footnote – the Kirk and Bridge Work Accounts of the City of Aberdeen show that the burial took place on 11th May, just two days after she died, and that it cost £20.

Grave slabs in St Mary’s Chapel – Part 2

September 23, 2014HistoryGrave slabArthur

This is the second of the series on grave slabs in St Mary’s Chapel. It records one of the more tragic incidents in Aberdeen’s history. The gravestone is shown here.

Around the edge the inscription reads “Heir lyes Thomas and Andrew Bvrnet brothers, bvrgesses of ABD qvho departed this lyf 13 Septr 1644″. The brothers were killed in the ‘cruell and bloodie feight and conflict quhiche was fochten betuixt the Crabstane and the Justice Mylnes”. The fight took place because Aberdeen (then dominated by the Covenanting party and reinforced by militia from Fife) refused to surrender to the Royalist Marquis of Montrose. In those days, to be a Burgess of the City meant that you had to be prepared to take arms and fight to protect the City. It was a tragic loss for the family.

Also mentioned on the gravestone is ‘Alexander Burnet, son of Thomas Burnet who died on 29th April 1686 and Sicklyke Agnes Moir, his wife, who died on 18th June 1686’. The stone has been broken diagonally across the centre at some time, but it does show a finely carved representation of the Burnet arms (three holly leaves over a hunting horn – the horn of Leys) with a helmet and mantling together with the initials of the brothers.

Grave slabs in St Mary’s Chapel – Part 1

September 20, 2014HistoryGrave slabArthur

Before the rebuilding of the West Kirk in 1755 and of the East Kirk in 1837 much of the flooring of the whole Kirk was provided by grave slabs some of which were removed and left in the churchyard. A number of these were taken into St Mary’s Chapel for better preservation when it was restored in 1898 and were incorporated into the floor. This series of posts will deal with the three most prominent of these.

This post shows the gravestone for Robert Burnet. The inscription reads “Here lyes Robert Bvrnet, merchant, Burg of ABD who departed the 23 of March 1674”. In the centre can be seen the arms of Burnet of Leys, (three holly leaves above a hunting horn) with, in this case, a square in the centre to differentiate this holder from the head of the family. These are combined with those of Gray family arms (a lion rampant) together with the initials RB and MG of husband and wife The Latin motto can be translated ‘Courage grows by wounding’.

The stone itself is central in St Mary’s Chapel just in front of the desk which featured a few weeks ago in these posts.

Problems with earwax?

September 7, 2014ArchaeologyFindsArthur

We like to think that the modern world is sophisticated and far more advanced than our predecessors. When it comes to health and hygiene is this always true? Most of us will have experienced troublesome ear wax and it has probably been a problem throughout history. What do we do about it? Today we would probably use cotton wool buds or apply almond oil on cotton wool, if it does not clear go to the doctors to have our ears syringed. In the past there were ear scoops examples of which have been found to be in use from Roman times.

In the archaeological exploration in the former East Kirk of St Nicholas a beautiful ear scoop was found and is shown in the photograph to the right. This one has an intricately decorated shaft and near the end opposite to the scoop is a suspension loop. The latter may well have been used to fasten it to a collection of other cosmetic ‘tools’ such as scissors and tweezers, perhaps from a belt. The scales in the photographs have 1 cm divisions.

A second ear scoop was also found during the dig was a much plainer example. It can be seen in the second photograph that there is very little decoration, but it does have the short point at the opposite end to the scoop. This is similar to most ear scoops found in digs at other places in the UK. The sharpened point at the opposite end to the scoop was probably used as a tooth pick.

Why it was felt appropriate to include these items in burials? Or did they get into the soil some other way? This is open to speculation, but we can be grateful that we are able to enjoy the small but fascinating and beautiful object centuries later. A short health warning should be added. Inserting metal objects into the ear risks damaging the ear drum and so should be avoided. Remember the old adage “never put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow”!

(The photographs are copyright Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections and are used with permission).

Dry rot

August 24, 2014ProgressPhase 1 problemArthur

In a previous post, we showed pictures of the dramatic effect that wet rot had on the structure of one of the bosses in the former East Kirk. This was caused by water getting in through the leaking roof. We have also had problems with dry rot. The name is slightly misleading since it too has a need for an increased level of moisture, but this is lower than with wet rot. Dry rot normally thrives with 20-40% moisture.

The fungus Serpula lacrymans is the main cause of dry rot. An outbreak starts with a spore germinating when conditions are right (often about 30% moisture). This develops thread-like hyphae which are capable of finding ways through stone and mortar as well as wood. A mass of hyphae forms a mycellium, which can look like grey fur (as shown in the first photograph). Growth of the fungus in wood rapidly destroys its strength so that it may no longer be capable of load bearing in a building. Eventually the fungus will produce a ‘fruiting body’ to release more spores. The hyphae can travel considerable distance from the original spore. One of the outbreaks we have had started inside the gallery structure and was first seen two storeys lower and about 20 feet away.

Often dry rot will start when a building is starting to dry out. This has been the case with the former East Kirk building, where there have been a number of outbreaks. The fruiting bodies can appear on wood or stone, as shown in the photographs. The first one shows a fruiting body on stone (above a window in the gallery).

The second shows it on some of the 17th century carved wood in St Mary’s Chapel. The orange colour is caused by the spores ready to be released.

Treatment is possible, but the sooner the better – so constant vigilance is required where there is a known risk.

John Fendour, master wood carver

August 8, 2014HistorySt Mary's Chapel, WoodArthur

John Fendour was a master wood carver of Flemish origin. Around 1500 he was renowned as one of the best wood carvers in the world. Aberdeen is fortunate that he was active at two churches – King’s College Chapel and St Nicholas Church. According to the records of the day, it was in 1495 that John Fendour was employed to work on the building work involved in expanding St Nicholas Church to make it one of the largest parish churches in Scotland. Initially he worked on the ceiling. Whilst the building was dedicated in 1498, the ceiling was not finally finished until 1515. In the intervening years he also worked on the choir stalls and he was also working on King’s College Chapel and Falkland Palace in Fife. Unfortunately, the east end of the building was demolished in 1835 to make way for the present building. As a result, the ceiling and most of the woodwork was lost. However a few years before it was demolished the ceiling was described as a ‘timber wagon roof, decorated with slender cross ribs, foliate sprays and an ornamental cornice’. John Fendour was commissioned to work on King’s College when building work started there in 1500. It is, therefore, not surprising that scholarship has established that the work at King’s College and St Nicholas Church were of a similar style, and indeed were influenced by styles used in a number of churches in the Netherlands. Thus, whilst we cannot know exactly what the stalls and ceiling in St Nicholas Church looked like, surviving pieces of the former and drawings of the latter together with those still visible in King’s College Chapel give a good indication of their appearance.

The most substantial part of John Fendour’s work surviving in St Nicholas Church is the long desk at the west end of St Mary’s Chapel (shown in the first photograph) with seven panels on the front and one on either end. One similar panel has been incorporated in a Victorian reading desk and others in furniture made for the 1937 refurbishment of the East Church. Upper parts of the choir stalls are in the National Museum of Scotland. Other panels were incorporated into the Deacon Convener’s Chair of the Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen. The second photographs shows one of the panels in closer detail. The carving was carried out in 1508.

Early dental work

July 27, 2014ArchaeologyFindsArthur

There is archaeological evidence for dental procedures going back over 8000 years. In the middle ages in the UK dentists as we know them had not evolved as a profession. When people had dental problems they usually went to either a barber or a general physician, as was the case with many other medical problems. Practices were crude by modern standards, but the basic concepts of the causes of dental disease were starting to be understood. During the archaeological dig in the former East Kirk of St Nicholas, many of the human remains retained some teeth. In this post we are showing two examples where there had been some sort of dental work.

In the first photograph a gold wire is fastened by twisting round a tooth (to the right) and is then looped round a peg (to the left). This burial dates from between the 16th and 18th century, but was ‘disarticulated’, meaning that it was not a complete skeleton, but part of a burial which had been disturbed by later gravediggers. Evidence from other sites show that these pegs could be made of wood or could be real teeth, presumably purchased from another individual. One is left to speculate about the motives and any remuneration involved in such instances. However, the supporting teeth are rotten, so the ‘patient’ may have been more comfortable had they been removed.

The second photograph is much earlier – between mid 12th and mid 15th centuries – and was only found during the detailed study of the human remains.. Exactly what was intended is not clear, but the jaw of this middle age adult has a sawed square of bone or ivory in a cavity in place of a tooth. Medieval texts indicate that dental treatment from this period was largely based on herbal remedies, charms and amulets. However, there are also references to dentures made of human or cow bone, which fits what is shown here. It can also be seen that the other teeth are in a very poor condition and there is an abscess as well, so this man would have had a lot of pain. As a result he would have gained little if any relief, so it could be that this ‘peg’ is being used as a charm rather than an actual attempt to have a false tooth.

(The photographs are copyright Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections and are used with permission).

A silk cap?

July 13, 2014ArchaeologyFindsArthur

The photograph shows the rather fancy headwear of an elderly lady, who probably died between the 16th and 18th century. It seems to be made up of strips of silk ribbon sewn onto another material, maybe velvet or felt. The overall effect is of a thick, almost matted, appearance. The soil conditions in the dig area in the former East Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen are quite unusual, which has allowed many items to survive which would have been lost in most other places. In this case it is the entire hat which has survived. Nothing more can be said about this item because it is another example of the archaeologists having a first reaction to a ‘find’, but until the post-excavation study is completed they cannot be certain. There is also the problem with samples like this because they need careful conservation if they are to be kept available for future generations to see. Help is needed to pay for this work.

In this case, we can add a little more information about the lady. Dr Paul Duffy ( his website is http://www.discoverbutearchaeology.co.uk/), our human bone specialist, has carried out a very detailed study of all the remains. He was able to identify that this lady had suffered a broken leg at some stage of her life. It had healed, but had left her with one leg twisted and shorter than the other, so she would have been quite lame in her later life.

The photograph is copyright Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections and is used with permission.

More Mason’s Marks

July 2, 2014ArchaeologyWallsArthur

We are showing two other photographs in this post featuring different mason marks, so they belong to two different people.

The first photograph shows a mark almost like a stylised fish. Similar marks are recorded in a number of buildings in Scotland, including Glamis Castle and St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen.

The mason mark in the second photograph is like a capital W with a vertical line from the centre. Quite a number of variations on this shape can be found, but it seems that this one is found in the Old Bridge of Dee and St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen as well as further afield.

There are a number of people who study these mason marks. One such study is being made in the northeast of Scotland lead by Moira Greig. There is a fascinating website (http://www.masonsmarkproject.org.uk/) which explains the study, demonstrates the wide range of marks and gives pointers where to find them. If you are interested it is well work a visit.

Should you wish to try to find mason marks yourself, it is best to use a source of light shining across the surface of the stone, as the marks can be difficult to see at first!

The photographs are copyright Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections and are used with permission.

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