Britain's 'oldest hospital found' by archaeologists
Excavations revealed a range of buildings and "convincing evidence" for building foundations
Archaeologists say they have uncovered what may be Britain's earliest known hospital.
Radio carbon testing at the site of a former leprosy hospital in Winchester, Hampshire, has revealed some burials took place between AD 960-1030.
Excavations revealed a range of buildings and "convincing evidence" for building foundations.
Until now, most historians believed hospitals in Britain only dated from after the Norman conquest of 1066.
A number of other artefacts and pits found at the site also relate to the same time, the archaeologists said.
Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote It is undoubtedly a site of national importance” End Quote Dr Simon Roffey University of Winchester
Winchester was the capital of England throughout a large part of the Anglo-Saxon period and after the Norman Conquest, before London replaced it in the 12th Century.
'Intriguing insight'
Dr Simon Roffey, of the University of Winchester, which conducted the dig, said: "Historically, it has always been assumed that hospitals were a post-conquest phenomena, the majority founded from the late 11th Century onwards.
"However, our excavations have revealed a range of buildings and, more significantly, convincing evidence for a foundation in the 10th Century.
An aerial view of the site in Winchester, which may house Britain's earliest known hospital
"Our excavations at St Mary Magdalen offer an intriguing insight into a little known aspect of the history of both Winchester and England. It is undoubtedly a site of national importance."
Prof Nicholas Orme, a leading researcher on medieval hospitals, added: "I have only studied the documentary evidence but I could not find any such evidence for a hospital before 1066 except perhaps as an activity within a monastery or minster.
"A late Anglo-Saxon hospital would surely be a first for archaeology and indeed for history."
One of the earliest known hospitals in Britain is Harbledown, in Canterbury, founded by Lanfranc in the 1070s, following the Norman Conquest.
Archaeologists from the  in Hampshire, England have discovered what they believe to be the earliest known hospital in the United Kingdom. Burials at the former leprosy hospital in England's former capital city have been radio carbon dated and are estimated to be from AD 960–1030. Several buildings have been excavated on the site along with the foundations of other structures. Other artifacts were also found on the site.

Prior to this discovery the earliest hospitals in the country were believed to date from the Norman Conquest, which took place in AD 1066. A leading researcher on medieval hospitals, Prof Nicholas Orme, said that the only other evidence for hospital activity prior to 1066 was within the context of monasteries or minsters. The earliest known hospital in England before this discovery was at  in , founded in the 1070's.

The Winchester dig has been taking place in Hospital Field, the location of the former St. Mary Magdalen Hospital which was believed to have been established in AD 1170.  The site has subsequently been used as a prison for Dutch prisoners in the 17th century and during the First World War as an army base.


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