Don Walker

Museum of London Archaeology, Osteology, Faculty Member

Followers

306

Following

123

Co-authors

Mentions

Public Views

I work as a human osteologist at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) where I record and report on human skeletal remains from excavations in London. I have previously worked as a field archaeologist for MOLA, Pre-Construct Archaeology and Trent and Peak Archaeology. Jobs in Europe include field and osteological work for Siena University, Italy, particularly at Poggio Bonizio and Santa Maria della Scala.
I have contributed to numerous MOLA monographs, including those on medieval Spitalfields, St Marylebone Church burial ground, post-medieval burial grounds in Tower Hamlets, Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, and Holywell Priory. Some of this work has involved collaboration with academics at the University of Bradford, Durham University and City University London. I have also written an English Heritage funded textbook on palaeopathology in London and numerous academic papers.
I have recently contributed to research on plague burials from Charterhouse Square and the New Churchyard, London, in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany. I have carried out analysis work on a monastic cemetery from St Helen’s Bishopsgate, and led the osteological team on the excavation of Park Street burial ground, Birmingham. I assist the Metropolitan Police in forensic enquiries. I have also featured in a number of television documentaries.

Member of: British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology www.babao.org.uk

Member, Chartered Institute for Archaeologists www.archaeologists.net

twitter.com/_donwalker
Phone: 020 7566 9311
Address: Museum of London Archaeology
Mortimer Wheeler House
46 Eagle Wharf Road
London N1 7ED

less

InterestsView All (25)

Uploads

Books by Don Walker

The New Churchyard: from Moorfields marsh to Bethlem burial ground, Brokers Row and Liverpool Street

Crossrail Archaeology Series - 10, 2017

Archaeological investigations for Crossrail at Liverpool Street revealed the development of this ... more Archaeological investigations for Crossrail at Liverpool Street revealed the development of this area, from the medieval marsh of Moorfields to municipal, non-parochial, burial ground and later suburb. The New Churchyard, or ‘Bethlem’ as it was later known, was established after the severe plague of 1563 and was in use from 1569 to 1739; some 25,000 people in total were buried here. Detailed osteological analysis of one quarter of the 3354 burials excavated supports documentary evidence that the burials included migrants and many of the city’s poor. Some were the victims of recurrent epidemics and outbreaks of plague when mass, but orderly, graves were dug.

Outside Roman London: roadside burials by the Walbrook stream

Crossrail Archaeology Series , 2017

Excavations at Crossrail’s Broadgate ticket hall at Liverpool Street provided archaeological evid... more Excavations at Crossrail’s Broadgate ticket hall at Liverpool Street provided archaeological evidence for an area outside Roman London’s northern defences, a landscape dominated by a former tributary of the Walbrook stream. Drainage features were succeeded by an early 2nd- to 3rd-century AD road running west from Ermine Street towards the fort in the north-west corner of the town. To the south of the road, seven 2nd-century AD inhumation burials, including three decapitations, and one cremation burial formed part of a burial ground in this waterlogged area, where evidence of flooding suggested an explanation for the accompanying disarticulated human bone.

St Marylebone’s Paddington Street north burial ground: excavations at Paddington Street, London W1, 2012–13

MOLA Archaeology Studies Series 34, 2015

During the 18th century the expansion of the wealthy London parish of St Marylebone led to the de... more During the 18th century the expansion of the wealthy London parish of St Marylebone led to the development of two additional graveyards to relieve pressure on the church and churchyard on Marylebone High Street. The latest of these, on the north side of Paddington Street, was in use between 1772 and 1853. Archaeologists recorded 386 burials from 124 single, stacked and brick-lined graves at the western edge of this ground. The archaeological findings and detailed osteological analysis of 291 individuals are combined with documentary research to provide a fascinating account of a burial ground used predominantly by the middle and upper classes.

Disease in London, 1st-19th centuries: an illustrated guide to diagnosis

MOLA Monograph Series, 2012

This book is designed to appeal to students and practitioners of osteology and palaeopathology, m... more This book is designed to appeal to students and practitioners of osteology and palaeopathology, medical historians and forensic archaeologists; it can be used as a reference guide in the field and the laboratory. Human health affects all aspects of everyday life and skeletal remains represent direct evidence of the experiences of people in the past. This volume describes human skeletal remains from archaeological excavations in London, ranging from the Roman period to the 19th century. It includes more than 400 photographic and radiographic images of disease and traumatic injury, providing a unique opportunity to explore the lives of past communities.

A bioarchaeological study of medieval burials on the site of St Mary Spital: excavations at Spitalfields Market, London E1, 1991–2007

MOLA Monograph Series, 2012

Major excavations on the site of the Augustinian priory and hospital of St Mary Spital uncovered ... more Major excavations on the site of the Augustinian priory and hospital of St Mary Spital uncovered the remains of over 10,500 human skeletons. Unprecedented accuracy of dating and phasing of the cemetery was achieved using a targeted programme of stratigraphic and radiocarbon dating techniques, resulting in four chronological periods of burials. Osteological analysis of a sample of 5387 skeletons has provided a unique insight into the lives of medieval Londoners from the 12th to the early 16th centuries. Many of the skeletons showed evidence of disease and injury and the results of this major project are integrated into a biocultural framework, which includes the recurrent famines and epidemics of the time.

‘He being dead yet speaketh’: excavations at three post-medieval burial grounds in Tower Hamlets, east London, 2004–10

MOLA Monograph Series, 2013

The latest in a series on post-medieval burial produced by MOLA, this volume reports on three non... more The latest in a series on post-medieval burial produced by MOLA, this volume reports on three non-Church of England burial grounds in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, excavated between 2004 and 2010. It looks at over 1350 burials of Baptists, Roman Catholics and Nonconformists, the majority of whom died in 1820–54, and examines the archaeological and osteological evidence, along with the historical and documentary sources. The discussions aim to place the three populations within the wider context of 19th-century London and Britain, with the findings well illustrated and fully tabulated throughout.

St Marylebone Church and burial ground in the 18th to 19th centuries: excavations at St Marylebone School, 1992 and 2004–6

by Don Walker and Natasha Powers

MOLA Monograph Series, 2008

During the 18th century, St Marylebone parish grew to become one of the wealthiest in London. The... more During the 18th century, St Marylebone parish grew to become one of the wealthiest in London. The church on Marylebone High Street, built 1742, was soon too small to serve this population and relocated in 1817. Archaeologists recorded 350+ burials, mostly in the graveyard, with some in family vaults or the church crypt. Notable burials included the painter Benjamin De La Cour, the Wesley family (Charles was founder of the Methodist movement) and the Hampsons (their ancestor Sir Robert was alderman of London and sheriff in 1598). The archaeological results and detailed osteological analysis of 301 individuals are combined with documentary research into the parish and its population, making this one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of a post-medieval London cemetery.

Papers by Don Walker

An individual with Sarmatian-related ancestry in Roman Britain

Current Biology, 2023

In the second century CE the Roman Empire had increasing contact with Sarmatians, nomadic Iranian... more In the second century CE the Roman Empire had increasing contact with Sarmatians, nomadic Iranian speakers occupying an area stretching from the Pontic-Caspian steppe to the Carpathian mountains, both in the Caucasus and in the Danubian borders of the empire.1–3 In 175 CE, following their defeat in the Marcomannic Wars, emperor Marcus Aurelius drafted Sarmatian cavalry into Roman legions and deployed 5,500 Sarmatian soldiers to Britain, as recorded by contemporary historian Cassius Dio.4,5 Little is known about where the Sarmatian cavalry were stationed, and no individuals connected with this historically attested event have been identified to date, leaving its impact on Britain largely unknown. Here we document Caucasus- and Sarmatian-related ancestry in the whole genome of a Roman-period individual (126–228 calibrated [cal.] CE)—an outlier without traceable ancestry related to local populations in Britain—recovered from a farmstead site in present-day Cambridgeshire, UK. Stable isotopes support a life history of mobility during childhood. Although several scenarios are possible, the historical deployment of Sarmatians to Britain provides a parsimonious explanation for this individual’s extraordinary life history. Regardless of the factors behind his migrations, these results highlight how long-range mobility facilitated by the Roman Empire impacted provincial locations outside of urban centers.

Don Walker

Uploads

Books by Don Walker

Papers by Don Walker

Log In