What You've Learned From Comparing the Body Strength of the Friars in Cambridge

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It has thrown up that the friars are actually a bit taller than all the other men from the town on average. If you joined as a novice at about 14, which was the standard age, then you're still going through sort of your male growth spur. How tall you grow is partly a combination of genetics, but also your environment when you're growing up. One of the things I found most interesting is that in terms of sort of body strength from things like their arms, they're actually very similar to everyone else in Cambridge. So they're probably doing as much manual activity as everyone else.

Crushed by a cart, infected with parasitic worms and painful bunions caused by pointy shoes. These might sound like curses you’d wish on your worst enemy, but a group of researchers have discovered they were probably a part of normal life in medieval Cambridge. Across several archaeological sites, the team have excavated and analysed hundreds of bones to uncover the accidents and afflictions of people in the middle ages. In this Halloween special, Madeleine Finlay hears from Nicola Davis as she takes a trip to Cambridge to investigate what old skeletons can reveal about the lives of those in centuries gone by. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod