New Covent Garden Market Skull

3D Model

Autopsied skull of one of around a hundred, 19th-century Londoners, buried in the churchyard of St George the Martyr, Nine Elms, Battersea – excavated during the redevelopment of New Covent Garden Market in 2016. The district served by St George’s changed dramatically during this individual’s lifetime, transforming from one of semi-rural market gardens to a teeming urban sprawl, racked by noxious industries, harsh conditions, poverty and disease.
A likely pugilist, this man had sustained repeated blows to his face, flattening the bridge of his nose, contributing to the loss of his front teeth and leading to the formation of an enormous oronasal cyst – undoubtedly a source of considerable discomfort. Evidence also suggests he had syphilis. Like others in the assemblage, he was subject to a cranial autopsy, a not uncommon occurrence in this period of medical advancement. Marks left by the tools provide us with invaluable evidence regarding the process.