Skeleton May Be Medieval Warrior

News April 29, 2013

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LEWES, ENGLAND—More than 120 sets of human remains were found in a medieval cemetery at the site of the Hospital of St. Nicholas on England’s southern coast. Most of the skeletons show signs of leprosy and other diseases, but archaeologists suspect that one man was a soldier killed during the Battle of Lewes in 1264. He may have survived long enough to have been taken to the hospital. “The top of his skull has been sliced off with a sword. He also had terrible tooth decay and would have been in permanent pain. We’ll be looking for signs of slashes to the back of his legs because they were often hit with battleaxes while they were running away,” said Edwina Livesey of the Sussex Archaeological Society. Scientists from the University of York will carbon date the remains.

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