#tw:bones

[paleoart]

Megantereon

Patreon • Ko-fi • Facebook  • Twitter • Prints & Merch  

[sentate]

“Let them eat.... BRAINS!”

[blackmonitor]

The monthly request poll winner in October was a spooky one 🤭 Thank you for the idea to @admiral-arelami and @myevilmouse! Discord / Patreon

@yanitchka wrote a few lines as she saw the sketch on my discord, and I wanted to share with you all this: "Sir when you said art is life-" "Yes, Ensign" "You didn't mean that literally- I mean-" "Art is life. Some are just....stares down at skull unable to appreciate it." For reference I took the idea and composition from here - a wonderful image - Richard Chamberlain’s Hamlet

[ltwilliammowett]

An archaeological study of skeletons from Greenwich pensioners and the conclusions about life at sea

In 1999-2001, an archaeological survey was carried out on the south-east corner of the Greenwich Royal Hospital Burial Ground. Greenwich pensioned Sailors and Marines were buried on this burial ground from 1749-1857. During this excavation 186 graves were uncovered, but only 107 of these were excavated, the others being reburied after a short survey.

Burial ground

The excavated area once held 20,000 inhabitants who were buried there over the course of time. However, 4000 were demonstrably removed and due to construction work and the two world wars, especially the second, great damage was left behind. What is striking, however, is that the marines and normal sailors are buried in simple, rather superficial graves in a NE-SW direction and not in a W-E direction as is usual in the Christian context. Also, many graves were double-occupied, or some were buried together with their partner, which explains the 5 women.

Double interment, skeletons 3211 and 3162

Officers were buried in a specially constructed mausoleum, the existence of which can only be proven by documents. No grave goods in the form of shoe buckles, buttons or even personal objects were found. It can therefore be assumed that they were all buried in simple shrouds.

The inhabitants

The skeletons revealed that they were mainly 105 adults and 2 sub adults. 5 skeletons were identified as definitely female and two as undefined because the skeletons were too damaged. Osteological examinations revealed an age range of 60-75, with the 71-75 group being the largest. The females were between 40-50 years old. Similarly, the average height of the men was 1.60-1.74m, with only a few being between 1.74-1.80m tall. The women were between 1.40-1.55m tall.

Compared to the other hospitals in Portsmouth, Haslar and Gosport where the injured and temporarily unfit Sailors and Marines were housed, the age range was as follows. The men there, and they were all men, were between 16-50 years old, with the majority being between 20 and 30 years old. There was no great difference in size to the pensioners in Greenwich. Therefore, it can be said that the Sailor and Marine standard height was between 1.60 and 1.75m.

Nationalities

The muster rolls of the ships showed that there were a variety of nationalities on board the ships, although the majority were British, Welsh, Scottish, Irish and Islanders. The remaining part consisted of continental Europeans, and there were Prussians, North Germans, Americans, Spaniards and even Frenchmen, but also Swiss and even Africans and Indians. Now, one might think that the residents of Greenwich Hospital would be exclusively British, Welsh, Irish, Scottish and Islanders, as it was a special honour to spend one's twilight years in this hospital. But the opposite was the case: as in the muster rolls, the residents were also of different origins and the examinations of the skeletons revealed three African men. So the selection was really based on performance and injuries and not on nationality.

Trauma - everyday injuries

Almost all of the skellets had serious injuries, but these had occurred a long time ago and could therefore be traced back to everyday life on board. Typical injuries in these cases were bone fractures, especially of the lower leg. But ribs and broken noses were also the most common. a few skeletons showed full-body fractures from a fall from a high height. On one ship, this was a typical injury from a fall from the rigging. Often these ended fatally for the person who fell, but also for one or the other who was standing on the deck at the same spot and was thus killed by the falling person. Few survived and often had permanent injuries that stayed with them for the rest of their lives.

Poorly reduced but well healed nasal fracture

The fact that the legs were often broken was often due to the fact that the people slipped during a storm, fell badly and broke their legs in the process.  This also often led to broken ribs and noses. The latter were also caused by scuffles between the men themselves. Interestingly, hand and finger fractures were rare among the skeletons examined. Even though one might expect this to be the case when it came to handling in the rigging or guns. On the other hand, dislocations of the arms were found in many of the examined individuals, which can be attributed to the handling of sails. Joint diseases resulting from years of toil under the most difficult conditions, such as carrying heavy loads, repetitive jerky movements, could lead to these skeletal disorders, which usually occur in old age and are therefore not uncommon.

Trauma - Battle Injuries

In this case, the injuries are much more varied and leave the victims with permanent damage and limitations.

Amputation ans secondary osteomyelitis of the right femur

Skull injuries, soft tissue injuries in the form of splinter or bullet wounds, but also dislocations of extremities or even the loss of those extremities were often encountered. Musket wounds could lead to fractures, but also to more unusual injuries such as those suffered by retiree and ex-Marine Thomas Chapman. He died at the age of 72 in 1851, having suffered a gunshot wound to the face that left his lower jaw barely functional and caused severe problems with eating and speaking.

Below knee amputation of the right tibia and femur

Bone diseases

A very typical disease that many Sailors suffered from was osteoporosis and rheumatism. This was also clearly visible in these skeletons.

Infectious diseases

Tuberculosis and syphellis were the most common. The men could have contracted these diseases in the hospital, but it is most likely that they were contracted much earlier, as healing processes could be proven in various stages. Many also suffered from periostitis. Meningitis occurs after blunt injuries, bacterial infections or when osteomyelitis and bone inflammation spread to the periosteum. It severely restricts the mobility of the affected person and causes severe pain. Many also suffered from chronic sinusitis, an inflammation of the nasal sinuses, which was promoted by the constantly damp and windy weather. Since the men could not cure themselves properly and there were no antibiotics, this was a common illness, along with chronic bronchitis.

Pott's disease (tuberculosis of the spine). Note the crush fractures and the collapse of the vertebrae

Deficiency symptoms

Even when scurvy was treated, many suffered from it and it showed clearly in their bone structures, but vitamin D deficiency in childhood also led to rickets and could also cause bone softening and deformation in adulthood, which was extremely difficult for the person affected.

Surgeons interventions

There were not many Naval Surgeons, there were only 15 in 1797 and more than half of them were on half pay ashore.  This, of course, led to a chronic lack of care on board the ships, which was often evident in the injuries and their healing processes. Even if there was a surgeon on board, this did not mean that the men were also well cared for, because many of the surgeons were poorly trained and had to learn their trade themselves. Many of the injuries were either badly splinted, which led to deformations in the bones, or even amputated. In this case, it only showed in the missing bones; the prostheses were not buried with them. Infectious diseases or chronic illnesses were only treated symtomatically, because either the knowledge or the means for treatment were lacking. Which is why the pensioners at Greenwich Hospital often had many illnesses and often suffered from them, but at least received some treatment. The men who were not admitted and no longer fit for service often died earlier and were very often under cared for.

Skeleton 3119 with post-mortem craniotomy

Post-mortem autopsies were even performed on four skeletons, whether for teaching purposes or for corrective reasons such as an active tuberculosis outbreak in the hospital cannot be precisely determined.

Summary

The skeletons examined, even if they were pensioners, showed the typical illnesses and injuries that a sailor could suffer at sea. Of course, the selection was quite small, but it showed well that the men, with the care they received and despite their limitations, managed to live to a fairly advanced age in a time of conflict. The abundant dataset reflects well what can often only be read in the logbooks. The origins of the men, the harsh life, the diet on board and the effects this could have on people in old age. In order to be able to provide a more accurate picture, further and more faithful studies are still needed.

[fleur-de-paris]

These Battle Of Waterloo Skeletons Were Found In An Attic!

[ohdavvvv]

I want Scarlett to shove a taser down somebody throat while it’s still on

Your wish is fulfilled, I had a great laugh while I was drawing

I'm bad at dynamic poses and perspective, frame 4 is like that🫡🫡...And I'm too lazy to paint it yet, maybe I'll do it later

(TW:BONES)

Bonus

[thewingedgoat]

GUYS I FOUND SMTH IN THE WOODS

Tw:bones btw

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

This is the Skull of a wild boar, I actually can't believe I found this. And even tho I usually Don't Post this kinda stuff I Just Had to share

[kin-of-kin]

TW:bones

The vulturekin moodboard! Thank you again anonymous!

[manka-s-komkami]

Just in case TW:bones, withered and tattered skin

MINECRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFT♥

(I like it very much, especially after a long period of not drawing)

[raspberrypickle]

TW:bones

Some bones found recently in the woods

They were really light and clean so they must have been there for a while. There were tones of them all spread out

[cannedf0wer]

thinking about what his full body look like

[sugar-peter]

My Moodboards:  Starker + Witch!Peter

Requested by: @tony-is-my-daddy (tysm!)

Request a moodboard you´d like to see or support me by buying me a coffee 💕

(Info Post on both linked in my bio!)

[bowlerhatwearer]

Is there someone on Tumblr who can determine animal bones by looking at a picture?

[xeno-bot]

more dwarf fortress fanart. I started this at 10PM, and didn’t stop until 6AM, so, that’s about eight hours straight? I’m really proud of this one too. It’s the first digital environment drawing I’ve posted here, so I think that’s a good mini milestone. I also haven’t had a chance to look at it with fresh eyes, and I totally forgot to flip my canvas to check if things were lopsided.

[gimmethemprimals]

FR staff accept my skin on the first time challenge

[sweathands]

*squawks in fandom free-fall feels*