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Crossrail work stopped after human bones found on site
Ruth Bloomfield12 May 2009
Work has been halted on a central London Crossrail station after human remains were found.
Government scientists are now testing the bones to discover if they could be contaminated with bubonic plague or anthrax. Archaeology experts from the Museum of London are assessing their age and historic interest.
Crossrail chiefs believe the bones may belong to a former resident of a workhouse attached to St Sepulchre's Church, close to the site of the Farringdon Crossrail station in Charterhouse Street. The danger is that they are the remains of a victim of a serious disease and that the site could be contaminated.
A spokesman for Crossrail confirmed the find was made as a deep exploratory bore hole was dug to test for the presence of bodies on the site.
We found a body or at least some human bones there last week, he said. The Museum of London has taken it away to see how old it is they think it could be 200 to 300 years old.
They [the bones] are also being tested for contamination by the Health Protection Agency at Porton Down. The local coroner and the Ministry of Justice are also involved. What we understand is that they probably came from the former burial ground at St Sepulchre's Church, which had a workhouse attached to it.
Anthrax can lie dormant in spore form for centuries but if disturbed it can spread through the air and is deadly if inhaled. The bacteria which causes bubonic plague can also survive in plague pits.
The threat of ancient diseases being released by the works was raised by Lord James of Blackheath during the passing of the Crossrail Bill.
He told the House of Lords Crossrail Bill select committee that 682 victims of anthrax brought into Smithfield with some contaminated meat in 1520 had been buried in the area. When the Metropolitan line was dug in 1890, he said, the anthrax escaped and killed several people in the area.
Nick Bateman, a senior consultant with Museum of London Archaeology, said that once the bodies had been examined they would either be reburied in consecrated ground or kept in the museum archive.
He said that archaeologists were aware of the potential dangers of unleashing ancient diseases, and that biohazard clothing would be worn in areas considered high risk. We take every precaution, he said.
Dealing with ancient remains has caused complications for a series of major building projects in the City.
Foster + Partners incorporated an ancient charnel house into a tower in Spitalfields. They also discovered Tudor and Roman remains. A treasure trove of relics was dug up during works on the Jubilee Line Extension.
Main works on Farringdon Crossrail station are due to begin in 2011 and to be completed by 2016.
Reader views (7)
Suzy, Cancer and AIDS cannot be contracted by inhaling particles of remains. Anthrax however can lie dormant for centuries.
- Jamie, Surrey, 13/06/2009 00:55
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Wonder if the police are still looking for them!
- Mike, London England, 12/06/2009 23:55
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I believe they have just found someone who waited too long for a Northern Line train and died of boredom....
- Doug, Barnet, 12/06/2009 23:55
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WOW imagine that,Anthrax sweeping across London then out into the rest of the UK and on through Europe,whoopee were all gonna die.
- Kev, London-UK, 12/06/2009 23:55
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You sure it wasn't Gordon Brown's spine? It's just that he's missing it and wants it back.
- Bob, Cheam, 12/06/2009 23:55
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People buried in the 1520s can still spread Anthrax? Surely this proves that cremation should be made compulsory for all?... In a few hundred years we could be re-introducing cancer or AIDS to a society which has long wiped out these fatal illnesses.
Come on everyone, if you are born again you get a new body - you do not have to recycle the old one..
- Suzy, London, England, 12/06/2009 23:55
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Kev, fortunately Anthrax cannot become an epidemic. The only people at risk are those who breathe in dust from the historical victims' graves. Bubonic plague was of course once a deadly pandemic, but these days it is curable with antibiotics, and better hygeine means that it too can no longer spark an epidemic.
Flu, on the other hand ....
- Nigel, London, 12/06/2009 23:55
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