Project description
Innovative analysis of medieval treatments of leprosy
Leprosy hospitals were established in Europe during the 11th century to prevent the risk of infection. According to medieval treatises and chronicles, the treatment of the disease relied on medicinal plants and other ingredients of mineral and animal origin. However, there is limited knowledge about the methods of diagnosis and treatment within leprosaria. The EU-funded MEDICAL project will analyse the dental calculus to explore the medical care offered to people who lived in leprosaria in Northern Europe during the medieval period (1100-1550AD). The project will analyse for the first time these medical treatments from an archaeological perspective by studying the skeletal remains recovered from historic leprosy cemeteries in England and France.
Objective
Leprosy was an iconic disease in medieval Europe. From the 11th century, several leprosy hospitals were founded as a mitigative response to the risk of infection. Medieval treatises and chronicles suggest that leprosy was treated with medicinal plants and other ingredients of mineral and animal origin. However, very little is known about the methods used to diagnose and treat this disease within leprosaria, and medical treatments of leprosy have very rarely put in their physical context so far. Through the analysis of the dental calculus, the MEDICAL project aims to explore the medical care offered to people who experienced leprosy and lived in leprosaria in Northern Europe during the medieval period (1100-1550AD). To date, these medical treatments have never been analysed from an archaeological perspective and the study of skeletal remains recovered from selected historic leprosy cemeteries offers an unparalleled opportunity to investigate medical treatments further. The MEDICAL project will focus on two north European case studies: the cemeteries of St. Leonard at Peterborough (England) and Saint-Thomas d’Aizier (France). The research will be developed at the Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences at the Sapienza University in Rome (host institution) and at the Department of Archaeology of Durham University (secondment). Under the supervision of Professor Emanuela Cristiani (Rome) and Professor Charlotte Roberts (Durham), the applicant Dr Elena Fiorin will analyse human dental calculus employing optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy with X-ray microanalysis using Energy and Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. This project ultimately seeks to shed new light on the history of medieval medicine developing a novel and fresh archaeological methodology for the study of infectious diseases in the ‘golden age of bacteria’.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- humanities history and archaeology history medieval history
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy electron microscopy
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry mass spectrometry
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
00185 Roma
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.