A human skull which is believed to have belonged to a convict onboard a prison ship around 200 years ago will now be analysed by scientists after it was found washed up on the shore of the River Thames.
Lara Maiklem (55) is a mudlarking specialist. She was on her way to the Thames Estuary and stumbled upon it. You can see the remains of stones poking out through them in 2019
After removing the skull, she marked the location using GPS and informed the Museum of London as well as the liaison officer for local finds.
The carbon dating revealed that the skull is approximately 200-years old. It was to be examined by Australian forensics specialists, but it was not possible to transport due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The University of Leicester’s Professor Turi Kings, who also leads a project to analyse Richard III’s DNA, has now taken the skull of the prisoner, and named him ‘Fred’.
Professor Turi King, University of Leicester, will analyse the human skull believed to belong to an convict who was taken to prison around 200 years ago.
Lara Maiklem (50), a mudlarking expert, was walking on the Thames Estuary at the time she saw the bones
According to Ms Maiklem, carbon dating revealed that the skull is around 200 years old
Ms Maiklem stated that the bones belonged to an inmate who got sick on a prison ship (also known as prison houlks) and then his body was taken overboard to the riverside.
A nearby pair of leg and arm bones accompanied the skull that had been washed.
She says that similar discoveries are becoming increasingly common in London as water levels rise and begin to wash away burial sites.
How did prison ships work?
Overcrowding was addressed by prison ships
Decommissioned warships were known more as prison ships or prison hulks. They were designed to hold those sentenced for serious and minor offenses during the 18th- and 19th centuries.
The vessels were stripped of their masts, rigging and sails and were used by the government to address overcrowding in jails.
To increase London’s prison capacity the government passed the 1776 ‘Hulks Act’ and in August 1776, the Justicia, a former transportation ship, became the first prison hulk.
The ships, which were directly managed and maintained by private contractors, were moored up along the Thames and Medway estuaries.
They were also anchored at Portsmouth, Bermuda and Gibraltar where prisoners were put to work in the dockyards.
They often held criminals awaiting transportation to penal colonies in Australia.
In 1798 the hulks held more than 1,400 out of about 1,900 people waiting for transportation to Australia.
Prison hulks were decommissioned warships which became popular in Britain during the 18th and 19th century to house those convicted of both serious and minor crimes.
To address jail overcrowding, the government took down sails, masts, and rigging from these vessels.
They were moored up along the Thames and Medway estuaries, as well as at Portsmouth, Bermuda and Gibraltar where prisoners were put to work in the dockyards.
Many times, they held criminals in prison while they waited to be transported to Australia’s penal colonies.
More than 1,400 people waited in the hulks for transport to Australia, out of approximately 1,900.
Now, the human skull will be analysed by Professor King who hopes to unearth more about the prisoner.
Ms Maiklem spoke out about her search: “The skull had been covered in barnacles. It was evident to me that the skull was old. However, I called the police anyway.
“They said they were aware of an ongoing case in that area.
It is highly probable that the skeleton came from a prison vessel moored near the area. They were often moored around Woolwich, and held Napoleonic prisoners-of-war.
“These ships were simply terrible. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
They just dug them up on the nearest piece of land when they were dead.
“River levels are rising by one foot, so they’re starting to erode the areas that once contained people.”
Ms Maiklem stated that the bones were first taken to a Scottish police forensics laboratory, where they were dated.
She was originally contacted by a forensic scientist specialising in barnacle colonisation on human remains at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, however due to international lockdowns and travel restrictions the skull could not be transported.
When Professor King heard that the skull was still in the UK, she offered to take a look at it.
Original contact was made by Murdoch University’s forensic scientist, who specialises in the barnacle colonisation of human remains. The skull could not then be shipped due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
Ms Maiklem took out the skull, marked it using GPS and informed the Museum of London as well as the liaison officer for local finds of the incident
The skull was located along the Thames with leg and arm bone nearby.
The scientist is among a team of geneticists who in 2013 matched DNA from bones discovered under a car park in Leicester with living relatives of the Richard III- confirming the remains belonged to him.
Experts used historical maps to locate a monastery where Richard was believed to have been buried following his death in battle in 2012. Richard’s remains were discovered in 2012.
Three weeks later, archaeologists located the bones of an adult male.
The injuries were consistent with the death of Bosworth Field’s Battle of Bosworth Field, 1485.
Also, the skeleton had severe scoliosis. This confirms what was already known about the monarch.
Shakespeare famously called the king ‘rudely stamped, deformed and unfinish’d.
Richard was confirmed as the owner of the Leicester remains in 2013, after DNA testing and matching it with two royal maternal relations.
After a lengthy legal battle to have Richard’s remains buried in York, the funeral was rescheduled at Leicester Cathedral. The star-studded event included Richard’s ashes being reburied.
The University of Leicester currently has the Thames skull in its possession awaiting more analysis.