Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall Yard cemetery

The Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall site was excavated by Museum of London Archaeological Service (MoLAS) between 1992 and 1997.

Originally, it was the site of the medieval churchyard of St Lawrence Jewry, a lay cemetery, where the earliest burials are thought to date from the late 11th century.

A total of 68 individuals were analysed and entered on to the Osteological Database.

Two separate periods were identified for the site (recorded as 10 and 11). Period 10 had three defined land uses (dating from 1050 to 1150), while Period 11 had two. All burials were supine and aligned east to west. Copper alloy bells were discovered in a number of the graves.

Although several adults could not be sexed due to lack of skeletal completeness, the bone quality across the site was excellent with only minor post-mortem damage to the ends of long bones.

From the 68 individuals recovered from the Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall Yard East churchyard, 47 (69.1%) were adults, including 18 (26.5%) males, 15 (22.1%) females and 14 (20.6%) unsexed individuals.

Almost equal numbers of adults were placed in the 26–35 and 36–45-year age categories, accounting for 44.7% of adult burials. However, 27.7% of all adult remains could not be aged due to the absence of required elements. Twenty-one (30.9%) children were recovered from the site, with 57% being between the ages of 6 and 11.

Stature estimation derived for individuals recovered from the Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall Yard East site indicated that the heights of both males and females were consistent with other medieval populations across Britain.

Of the 68 individuals recovered 10% exhibited cribra orbitalia in the left orbit and 7% in the right. No cases were observable in identifiable females. Of all subadults, 14% exhibited cribra orbitalia in the left orbit and 10% in the right.

A total of 17% of all males and 7% of all females exhibited examples of healed trauma, including an avulsion fracture to the distal right humerus [10690], a fractured metacarpal [20590] and a fractured hand phalanx, resulting in the fusion of proximal and intermediate phalanges [17166].

Of the adult population, 31% suffered from dental caries, with 4.8% of all dentition recovered exhibiting the disease. Females had suffered substantially more than males, with 50% of all females having carious lesions compared to 13.3% of males. 16.7% of subadults were affected, with 2.7% of all subadult dentition exhibiting carious lesions.

Of all visible teeth, 88.3% had some degree of calculus, with a higher prevalence once again being observed among the females. Every female had some degree of calculus, compared to 86.7% of men, and 83.3% of all subadults had calculus.

Prevalence rates of hypoplasia in subadults and adults were almost equal, with 58.6% of adults being affected and 58.3% of subadults. Of the adults, 66.7% of males had observable hypoplasia, compared to only 50% of females. Hypoplasia is the only form of dental pathology that affected males more than females.

A total of 33.9% of all adults and 2.5% of subadults exhibited signs of periodontitis. Once again, higher prevalence rates were observed in females, with 91.7% suffering compared to 73.3% of males.

Compared to males, over double the number of females had periapical lesions, with 50% of all females afflicted compared to only 20% of males. Of all observable dentition, 3% had associated periapical lesions. No subadults were affected.

The population from Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall Yard represents a small medieval community living in the centre of London in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. This site remains largely unstudied providing plenty of opportunities for population analysis.

Bowsher, D, Dyson, T, Holder, N and Howell, I (eds). 2007. The London Guildhall: an archaeological history of a neighbourhood from early medieval to modern times. London: MoLAS Monograph 36, Museum of London Archaeology

Guildhall Art Gallery, Guildhall Yard; Portland House, 72–73 Basinghall Street, EC2

Site code: GYE92

Last updated: 2025