‘Lead author Rebecca Gowland, a professor in the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, said: ‘This is the first bio-archaeological evidence for pauper apprentices in the past. It explicitly highlights the toll placed on their developing bodies.
‘To see direct evidence, written in the bones, of the hardships these children had faced was very moving. It was important to the scientists and the local community that these findings could provide a testimony of their short lives.’
While the use of children as a cheap source of labor during industrialization in 18th and 19th century England is well-documented, there is little direct evidence of their struggles.
For the study, the experts performed a chemical analysis of the teeth remains. They were able to identify the sex of the children as well as determine that they were not local to the area and were probably from London.
Examination of the bones and teeth also highlighted the conditions that affected the children, including tuberculosis, respiratory disease, rickets and delayed growth.
Professor Michelle Alexander, from the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, a senior author of the study, said: ‘We undertook chemical analysis of the bones to study diet and found that the apprentices had a lack of animal protein in the diet compared to the locals, more on a level with the victims of the Great Irish Famine.’
The remains have since been reburied in a ceremony that involved contributions from the local community.
‘They (the children of Victorian England) were overlooked in life and treated as a commodity. We hope we have done them some justice by telling their stories and creating a lasting commemoration.’
If these remains were of black or indigenous children, we’d never hear the end of the worldwide outrage. Demands that some sort of reparations be paid to their fellow minorities.
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