The skeleton of this 50-60 year-old male (SA15) from the St Leonard’s North Shields assemblage shows signs of severe mobility impairment along with edentulism (complete lack of teeth). 

 

The bone along the gum line of SA15’s upper and lower jaws has almost completely remodeled, obliterating the tooth sockets. This shows that his tooth loss occurred several years before his death. 

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​SA15’s right femur (thigh bone) is fragmentary, but we can see he was involved in a high-impact incident several years before his death. There is a healed transverse fracture close to the knee joint with a significant angular deformity. This means the bone was realigned incorrectly after it broke, resulting in overlapping bone segments. The knee and lower leg bones also have healed fractures, with angular deformities and shortening in both the tibia and fibula. These fractures likely occurred during the same incident as the femoral fracture 

 

Possibly due to improper alignment and subsequent shortening in his right leg, SA15’s entire lower right side is significantly smaller than his left side. He likely compensated by adjusting his gait and posture, which also led to reactive changes in his right hip and spine (see image below).

 

Despite his significant mobility impairment and likely difficulty eating, SA15 lived to a mature age and was buried in a place of honour at St Leonard’s church. As we continue to analyse his skeletal remains and historical sources, we will uncover more of his fascinating story.