Documentary sources suggest that from c 1821-53 up to 33,000 burials may
have taken place in the commercial Nonconformist burial ground at New
Bunhill Fields, Southwark. Excavation of 827 wooden coffin burials in
2008 allows comparisons of the use of the burial ground, coffin
furniture and burial finds with other contemporary cemeteries. Of
particular interest is the good level of preservation of floral remains
in a childs coffin, ceramic plates in a womans coffin and good examples
of burial clothing. The 514 skeletons selected for full osteological
analysis, demonstrating a broad spectrum of disease conditions, provide
a wealth of information about life and death in this area of
19th-century London.