TY - JOUR
T1 - Bioarchaeological Investigation of individuals with suspected multibacillary leprosy from the mediaeval leprosarium of St. Mary Magdalen, Winchester, Hampshire, UK
AU - Dawson-Hobbis, Heidi
AU - Taylor, G. Michael
AU - White-Iribhogbe, Katie
AU - Cole, Garrard
AU - Ashby, David
AU - Stewart, G R
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Dr Simon Roffey, Reader in Mediaeval Archaeology, School of History, Archaeology and Philosophy, University of Winchester for much-valued ongoing collaborations with the Magdalen Hill Archaeological Research Project (MHARP). We are very grateful to our colleague, Winifred Akwani, Researcher in the School of Biosciences, University of Surrey, for providing reference strains of non-tuberculous mycobacteria. We would also like to thank Dr Kori-Lea Filipek for providing useful comments on an earlier version of part of this paper. Thanks are due to Ross Turle, Curatorial Liaison Manager of Hampshire Cultural Trust (HCT), for granting permission to examine Sk.512, and also to Brigid Gallagher, Matt Williams and co-authors of the unpublished draft report for Time Team/Videotext Communications Ltd, recording the excavations of March 2000. The radiocarbon dating for Sk.512 was generously funded by the Wessex branch of the Council for British Archaeology. The micro-CT scan was carried out by Dr Ian Simcock at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. The picture of the burial taken in situ in the year 2000 is reproduced here (Fig. S1) with the kind permission of Katie Hirst. Thanks are due to Kim Batten and William Garrard for locating the relevant plans. Finally, we are very grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments, which have helped us to improve the clarity and presentation of the paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors.
PY - 2024/2/16
Y1 - 2024/2/16
N2 - Introduction. We have examined four burials from the St Mary Magdalen mediaeval leprosarium cemetery in Winchester, Hampshire, UK. One (Sk.8) was a male child, two (Sk.45 and Sk.52) were adolescent females and the fourth (Sk.512) was an adult male. The cemetery was in use between the 10th and 12th centuries. All showed skeletal lesions of leprosy. Additionally, one of the two females (Sk.45) had lesions suggestive of multi-cystic tuberculosis and the second (Sk.52) of leprogenic odontodysplasia (LO), a rare malformation of the roots of the permanent maxillary incisors.Gap statement. Relatively little is known of the manifestations of lepromatous leprosy (LL) in younger individuals from the archaeological record.Aims and Methodology. To address this, we have used ancient DNA testing and osteological examination of the individuals, supplemented with X-ray and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) scan as necessary to assess the disease status.Results and Conclusions. The presence of Mycobacterium leprae DNA was confirmed in both females, and genotyping showed SNP type 3I-1 strains but with a clear genotypic variation. We could not confirm Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA in the female individual SK.45. High levels of M. leprae DNA were found within the pulp cavities of four maxillary teeth from the male child (Sk.8) with LO, consistent with the theory that the replication of M. leprae in alveolar bone may interfere with root formation at key stages of development. We report our biomolecular findings in these individuals and review the evidence this site has contributed to our knowledge of mediaeval leprosy.
AB - Introduction. We have examined four burials from the St Mary Magdalen mediaeval leprosarium cemetery in Winchester, Hampshire, UK. One (Sk.8) was a male child, two (Sk.45 and Sk.52) were adolescent females and the fourth (Sk.512) was an adult male. The cemetery was in use between the 10th and 12th centuries. All showed skeletal lesions of leprosy. Additionally, one of the two females (Sk.45) had lesions suggestive of multi-cystic tuberculosis and the second (Sk.52) of leprogenic odontodysplasia (LO), a rare malformation of the roots of the permanent maxillary incisors.Gap statement. Relatively little is known of the manifestations of lepromatous leprosy (LL) in younger individuals from the archaeological record.Aims and Methodology. To address this, we have used ancient DNA testing and osteological examination of the individuals, supplemented with X-ray and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) scan as necessary to assess the disease status.Results and Conclusions. The presence of Mycobacterium leprae DNA was confirmed in both females, and genotyping showed SNP type 3I-1 strains but with a clear genotypic variation. We could not confirm Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA in the female individual SK.45. High levels of M. leprae DNA were found within the pulp cavities of four maxillary teeth from the male child (Sk.8) with LO, consistent with the theory that the replication of M. leprae in alveolar bone may interfere with root formation at key stages of development. We report our biomolecular findings in these individuals and review the evidence this site has contributed to our knowledge of mediaeval leprosy.
KW - Mediaeval
KW - Leprosy
KW - Tuberculosis
KW - aDNA
KW - PCR
KW - leprosy
KW - tuberculosis
KW - mediaeval
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/868862c4-03f0-366b-b144-787a4fef7ee2/
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85185232242&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1099/jmm.0.001806
DO - 10.1099/jmm.0.001806
M3 - Article
VL - 73
JO - Journal of Medical Microbiology
JF - Journal of Medical Microbiology
SN - 0022-2615
IS - 2
M1 - 001806
ER -