Archaeologists uncover remains of medieval leprosy hospital in Lincoln
Archaeologists working with Time Team have uncovered walls and possible building plots at the site of Lincoln’s Hospital of the Holy Innocents. The institution is believed to have housed up to 20 people with leprosy from the late 11th or early 12th century and may have remained in use for five centuries.
Archaeologists have uncovered remains believed to belong to one of medieval England’s earliest and largest leprosy hospitals at Lincoln’s South Common. A three-day excavation by Time Team began on Friday at the site of the Hospital of the Holy Innocents. Archaeologists believe the hospital housed up to 20 people with leprosy in the late 11th or early 12th centuries.
Professor Carenza Lewis said the team had identified a wall running through a 30-metre trench. Surveys and earlier test pits indicated that the wall continued on either side of the excavation area. The team also found traces of square features measuring about 5m across.
Lewis said these could represent small buildings or yards associated with separate living spaces for residents. She said such features had not previously been excavated anywhere, according to the supplied report. The remains were first identified last year through a Local Landscapes and Hidden Histories project.
More than 100 volunteers excavated test pits that revealed what were thought to be the hospital’s medieval boundary walls. Time Team then conducted a geophysical survey of the site. The current work begins a three-year project backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Hidden Histories Unearthed project, led by Anglia Ruskin University, has received £248,139 and aims to learn more about the people who lived and died at the hospital. Lincoln City Council believes the institution remained in use for about five centuries. Lewis said access to such a hospital may have depended on a person’s resources, comparing it with securing a place in a private care home.
The council said local residents would be able to participate in future excavations and related activities as the project continues.
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