The Worcester Pilgrim project

Excavations at the Worcester Cathedral in 1987 uncovered the grave of a pilgrim. Skin, bones, a wooden staff, dried plant, and textile remains were found, along with a pair of knee-length boots made of thin leather. The York Archaeological Trust's investigative conservation project on these remains is described here in some detail. The body was dismantled, the parts painstakingly recorded, wrapped, and packaged to be disbursed to specialists for examination and analysis. The separated elements of the boots were cleaned, reinforced, consolidated with PEG 600, reconditioned by humidification, relubricated, reshaped, and reassembled. The staff was cleaned, stabilized, and reconstructed. No conservation was attempted on the very degraded textile fragments. The project report is not yet complete, but contains further information on the cockle shell, the skeletal remains, soft tissues, environmental evidence, dating, possibly to the late 15th century, and further personal identification evidence.