Galdor

What this skeleton told us: Evidence

A neonate (newborn baby) of some 38 weeks gestation. Teeth were not present but a jaw bone recovered from the immediately adjacent grave that contained Skeleton 185 is consistent with a neonatal age and is likely part of this individual. It is possible that this is a stillborn child buried adjacent to its mother, as skeleton 185 is an adult female.

Interpretation of the evidence

Infant mortality was likely high in Anglo-Saxon Britain, with many infants dying in utero, during birth, or shortly thereafter from a variety of health problems, for example infections. Double obstetric deaths (mother and child) were likely common.