GROUND-breaking research on one of Britain’s first hospitals is the subject of a talk next month.
Dr Katie Tucker, Winchester University osteoarchaeologist, presents Leprosy Evidence at St Mary Magdalen, Winchester, on December 9.
A dig in a field off Alresford Road, No Man’s Land, east of Winchester, is shedding light on the hospital.
The talk will explore the evidence of leprosy in skeletons recovered from the St Mary Magdalen site, believed to have been a leprosy hospital from the late 11th century onwards.
Dr Tucker said: “The first documented use of this site in Winchester was as a leprosy hospital some 800 years ago. Excavation has revealed that it may have started life much earlier, possibly in the late Saxon period. The opportunity to excavate a complete leper hospital is very rare – and we are very fortunate to be able to do so here in Winchester.”
The talk takes place on December 9 at 7.15pm at the Hampshire Record Office.
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