Archaeological evidence for 18th-century medical practice in the Old Town of Edinburgh

Excavations at 13 Infirmary Street and Surgeons' Square

Bibliographic Data

ID11006522
AuthorsDavid Henderson (0000-0003-1012-0631, City of Edinburgh Council, corresponding author), M Collard (0000-0002-2725-4989, City of Edinburgh Council), Daniel A Johnston (City of Edinburgh Council)
Year1997
Volume126
Pages929-941
Publication date1997-11-30
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueProceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0081-1564 • E-ISSN: 2056-743X
PublisherSociety of Antiquaries of Scotland (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.9750/psas.126.929.941
OpenAlexW2186403131
LanguageEN
Citations received7

Articulated human skeletons and disarticulated bones recovered in 1993 from excavations in the area of the former Lady Yester's Kirkyard showed clear evidence of post-mortem dissection. They are identified as the `unclaimed' dead buried by the Royal Infirmary in the second half of the eighteenth century. There was evidence for post-mortem tooth removal from all the dentitions recovered during the excavation, probably for the manufacture of sets of false teeth. A further assemblage of human bones, found in 1988 adjacent to eighteenth/nineteenth-century anatomy schools formed part of a teaching collection from the schools

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Assemblage (archaeology · Excavation · Square (algebra · Dental Education, Practice, Research · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · Paleopathology and ancient diseases

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