Book review: ‘Crypt’ by Prof. Alice Roberts

Life, death and disease in the Middle Ages and beyond.

Crypt is the final book in a trilogy by Prof. Alice Roberts that began with Ancestors and continued with Buried. Like its excellent predecessors, Crypt explores human remains and associated artefacts recovered on archaeological sites, and what they can tell about the past. While Ancestors dealt with prehistoric sites, and Buried with first-millennium Britain (i.e. the late Roman period, and the early Medieval period—what used to be referred to as the Dark Ages), Crypt is concerned with the high- and late-Medieval periods (c.1000–1500CE). These later periods of interest enable a change in approach in Roberts’ investigations: there are far more historical records available, so much of this book explores historical accounts in some depth before considering how these are supported or challenged by the archaeological and scientific evidence.

In each of the seven chapters, Roberts explores particular medieval themes and events, some very specific and local, others of pan-continental importance, namely: the St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002CE; the history of leprosy; the life, murder, and sanctification of Thomas Becket; the history of Paget’s disease; the history of the Black Death/Bubonic Plague; the sinking of Henry VIII’s favourite ship, the Mary Rose; the history of syphilis.

As with its predecessors, Crypt is a fascinating read, showing how modern science can give us a better understanding of former times.