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Crypt: Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond
The new book by Sunday Times bestselling author of Ancestors and Buried - the final instalment in Professor Alice Roberts' acclaimed trilogy. In her previous two bestsellers, Professor Alice Roberts powerfully and evocatively revived people of the past through examining their burial rites, bringing a fresh perspective on how they lived.
In Crypt, Professor Roberts brings us face to face with individuals who lived and died between ten and five centuries ago. The stories in this book are not comforting tales; there’s a focus on pathology, on disease and injury, and the experience of human suffering in the past. We learn of an episode of terrible brutality, when hate speech unleashed a tide of violence against an ethnic minority; of the devastation caused by incurable epidemics sweeping through medieval Europe; of a protracted battle between Church and State for the heart of England � a battle that saw the most famous tomb in the country created and destroyed; and a tumultuous story, forged in the heat of warfare, that takes us out of the Middle Ages into the sixteenth century and the reign of Henry VIII. In the Middle Ages, there’s barely a written note for most people’s lives.
The information we can extract from archaeological human remains represents is an essential tool for understanding our history. Most of these dead will remain anonymous. But, in the thrilling final chapter, Professor Roberts introduces an individual whose life and bones were marked by chronic debilitating disease � and whose name might just be found in history� Beautifully written, vividly drawn, and expertly researched, this is a brilliant and unexpected portrait of modern Britain.
In Crypt, Professor Roberts brings us face to face with individuals who lived and died between ten and five centuries ago. The stories in this book are not comforting tales; there’s a focus on pathology, on disease and injury, and the experience of human suffering in the past. We learn of an episode of terrible brutality, when hate speech unleashed a tide of violence against an ethnic minority; of the devastation caused by incurable epidemics sweeping through medieval Europe; of a protracted battle between Church and State for the heart of England � a battle that saw the most famous tomb in the country created and destroyed; and a tumultuous story, forged in the heat of warfare, that takes us out of the Middle Ages into the sixteenth century and the reign of Henry VIII. In the Middle Ages, there’s barely a written note for most people’s lives.
The information we can extract from archaeological human remains represents is an essential tool for understanding our history. Most of these dead will remain anonymous. But, in the thrilling final chapter, Professor Roberts introduces an individual whose life and bones were marked by chronic debilitating disease � and whose name might just be found in history� Beautifully written, vividly drawn, and expertly researched, this is a brilliant and unexpected portrait of modern Britain.
352 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2024
352 people are currently reading
3,645 people want to read
About the author
Alice Roberts
37books697followersAlice May Roberts is an English anatomist, osteoarchaeologist, physical anthropologist, palaeopathologist, television presenter and author.
Roberts studied medicine and anatomy at Cardiff University, qualifying in 1997 as a physician with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BCh) degree, having gained an intercalated Bachelor of Science degree in anatomy. She earned a PhD in paleopathology in 2008 from the University of Bristol.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the ŷ database with this name.
Roberts studied medicine and anatomy at Cardiff University, qualifying in 1997 as a physician with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BCh) degree, having gained an intercalated Bachelor of Science degree in anatomy. She earned a PhD in paleopathology in 2008 from the University of Bristol.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the ŷ database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
May 18, 2024
I wish this book had interested me as much as it has others. I found it plodding and pedestrian in its prose and presentation. The subject is fascinating but I found tv programs covering similar material to that in the book far more compelling. I am particularly thinking of one made about the 17 bodies found in a well in Norwich which turned out to be Jewish victims of the great anti-semitic pogroms in 12th century England (which is not discussed in this book, though another massacre site is) and another on the bones of the drowned sailors and soldiers from the Mary Rose (this is discussed in the book). I found the visual presentation of these stories more moving, but also effective. The new information that can be gained from the study of bones is marvellous, but for me the details are tedious.
My lack of enjoyment should not distract others from finding interest in the book but I suspect the TV programs and their information more easily absorbed and enjoyed.
My lack of enjoyment should not distract others from finding interest in the book but I suspect the TV programs and their information more easily absorbed and enjoyed.
June 5, 2024
Found this book interesting on many levels looking at diseases and the human body through the ages. The development of new techniques as well helping with archaeology and history
February 28, 2024
Mixing a passion for science with history, Crypt tells the story of humans from the Middle Ages through to Henry VIII. This is the third instalment in the series and it blends written history with what the science actually tells us. Professor Alice Roberts explains the science clearly and then links it each time to why this proves or disproves what the spoken or written history has said. She touches on Osteoarchaeology and new developments in genomics that are helping to show how diseases have wiped out populations or how genocides in the Middle Ages (when records were highly politicised if they existed at all) can be proved. It is truly fascinating and if you have any interest in history it’s a must read! I enjoyed it so much that I now need to go back and read the other 2 books in the series!
March 19, 2025
Well it's taken me a while to get through this one and it's due back to the library so I've had to wrap it up pretty sharpish!
Alice Roberts's enthusiasm is infectious, indeed it comes through on TV too where she has made a number of interesting documentaries. This book is no different. The interest she shows in her subject is second to none and it bleeds into the pages.
Admittedly I enjoyed some chapters more than others; the Black Death plague chapter was particularly engrossing (!!) as was the study into Thomas Becket's skeleton/bones. Not all of the chapters interested me however as I'm not the biggest history fan in the world, so some repetition and discussion of ancient houses/monarchies had my mind wandering elsewhere.
Altogether a 3 star read though and worth waiting for from the library.
Alice Roberts's enthusiasm is infectious, indeed it comes through on TV too where she has made a number of interesting documentaries. This book is no different. The interest she shows in her subject is second to none and it bleeds into the pages.
Admittedly I enjoyed some chapters more than others; the Black Death plague chapter was particularly engrossing (!!) as was the study into Thomas Becket's skeleton/bones. Not all of the chapters interested me however as I'm not the biggest history fan in the world, so some repetition and discussion of ancient houses/monarchies had my mind wandering elsewhere.
Altogether a 3 star read though and worth waiting for from the library.
May 18, 2024
I'm increasingly disappointed with Alice Roberts. Ancestor was a revelation, but there's been a steady decline of quality.
Please just come to some sort of thesis in your chapters, Alice. Each chapter is bogged down with background that everyone knows (eg. the origins of the Black Death and debated around whether or not it was bubonic plague). Just when I felt we were getting somewhere, the chapter would abruptly draw to a close.
We also spent the least time with the bones than any book yet in this 'series'. Most of the points about the skeletons Roberts focused on had been made by earlier researchers.
This book felt rushed as anything.
Please just come to some sort of thesis in your chapters, Alice. Each chapter is bogged down with background that everyone knows (eg. the origins of the Black Death and debated around whether or not it was bubonic plague). Just when I felt we were getting somewhere, the chapter would abruptly draw to a close.
We also spent the least time with the bones than any book yet in this 'series'. Most of the points about the skeletons Roberts focused on had been made by earlier researchers.
This book felt rushed as anything.
February 23, 2025
Genuinely devastated I hadn't read this book last year while I was digitising the Probate registers... it would have been amazing to see some of the wills mentioned in the last case study with my own eyes!
September 16, 2024
In Crypt, the author took me on a journey through history, starting in Oxford, where 35 skeletal remains were found all buried together in a ditch. Were the remains of people slayed during the St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002?
Then, we move to St Mary Magdalene’s hospital in Winchester, where leprosy was treated. There was a body which showed some horrific markers of leprosy and I found this chapter illuminating, as it made me think about the social impact of this disease on the society.
One of my favourite chapters was the one about Paget’s Disease � mainly because there is a history of the disease on my husband’s side of the family. The bones of the monks from the Norton Priory in Cheshire showed some advanced symptoms of the disease. I was glad to discover that the modern Paget’s disease doesn’t present itself so harshly � although my mother-in-law and her sister still suffered great pain with it!
The plague chapter was an eye opener. I thought that plague, or the Black Death, was only prevalent in the 14th century. Just imagine my surprise when the chapter opened up telling the story of the plague outbreak in Hong Kong in 1894! This chapter also revealed that Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague, was prevalent way before the 14th century � in fact, the plague was present in the Bronze Age.
After the plague chapters, we are taken on the journey to Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s favourite ship, which sank in 1545, and was recovered in 1982. There were bodies of young men onboard the wreckage of the ship with signs of bone pathology in their shoulders, suggesting there were archers.
Finally, there is a chapter about syphilis, where a body of a woman was found buried in an unusually crouched position behind an altar of the All Saint’s Church in Fishergate in York. Who was this woman? Why was she buried at the Church? Her bones showed advanced symptoms of syphylis�
I just loved this book. It’s a great example of how archaeology can support our understanding of the past. It’s not just old pots and pans, we can gain valuable evidence from the bones of the dead.
Like the author herself said, bones don’t lie. They are there to tells us their story, even after the person’s death.
This book is a compelling and an extremely interesting insight into what life was like in the Middle Ages and beyond.
I definitely recommend it.
Then, we move to St Mary Magdalene’s hospital in Winchester, where leprosy was treated. There was a body which showed some horrific markers of leprosy and I found this chapter illuminating, as it made me think about the social impact of this disease on the society.
One of my favourite chapters was the one about Paget’s Disease � mainly because there is a history of the disease on my husband’s side of the family. The bones of the monks from the Norton Priory in Cheshire showed some advanced symptoms of the disease. I was glad to discover that the modern Paget’s disease doesn’t present itself so harshly � although my mother-in-law and her sister still suffered great pain with it!
The plague chapter was an eye opener. I thought that plague, or the Black Death, was only prevalent in the 14th century. Just imagine my surprise when the chapter opened up telling the story of the plague outbreak in Hong Kong in 1894! This chapter also revealed that Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague, was prevalent way before the 14th century � in fact, the plague was present in the Bronze Age.
After the plague chapters, we are taken on the journey to Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s favourite ship, which sank in 1545, and was recovered in 1982. There were bodies of young men onboard the wreckage of the ship with signs of bone pathology in their shoulders, suggesting there were archers.
Finally, there is a chapter about syphilis, where a body of a woman was found buried in an unusually crouched position behind an altar of the All Saint’s Church in Fishergate in York. Who was this woman? Why was she buried at the Church? Her bones showed advanced symptoms of syphylis�
I just loved this book. It’s a great example of how archaeology can support our understanding of the past. It’s not just old pots and pans, we can gain valuable evidence from the bones of the dead.
Like the author herself said, bones don’t lie. They are there to tells us their story, even after the person’s death.
This book is a compelling and an extremely interesting insight into what life was like in the Middle Ages and beyond.
I definitely recommend it.
March 16, 2024
Another masterpiece by the prof. I think I’ll reread her trilogy; something I rarely do. 👌
July 13, 2024
I’m always enthralled by Alice Roberts and her profound research into human history and archaeology. I thought Crypt was a great read- a really smooth blend of historical fact and scientific knowledge that doesn’t leave you bored, but rather craving more.
I particularly marvelled at the chapters on Yersinia pestis ( the bubonic � black� death) and the cult of Saint Thomas Beckett whose skull and whereabouts is still a huge mystery. Roberts can even make a chapter about leprosy really fascinating, though a strong stomach is required.
Crypt focuses on bone fragments and disease that tore through Europe during the medieval period and beyond. After all with bones came a person’s death, and that death was caused by environmental and biological factors. It’s amazing that unearthed bones can hold such a distinct key to how people lived and died. I really love the detailed analysis on bone markings. They hold stories and meaning all these centuries later.
I particularly marvelled at the chapters on Yersinia pestis ( the bubonic � black� death) and the cult of Saint Thomas Beckett whose skull and whereabouts is still a huge mystery. Roberts can even make a chapter about leprosy really fascinating, though a strong stomach is required.
Crypt focuses on bone fragments and disease that tore through Europe during the medieval period and beyond. After all with bones came a person’s death, and that death was caused by environmental and biological factors. It’s amazing that unearthed bones can hold such a distinct key to how people lived and died. I really love the detailed analysis on bone markings. They hold stories and meaning all these centuries later.
November 23, 2024
Really interesting opening chapter on the st Brice's day massacre of 1002, and the author's focus on the language Aethelred used to somehow justify it felt very relevant to current affairs.
I think my enjoyment really depended on the chapter I was on. I liked the leprosy hospital and black death chapters but chapters like the Thomas Becket one felt less connected to the theme of exploring what the bones could show and more like a general history lesson. From halfway on I wasn't really feeling engaged.
The author's passion for her work definitely comes through though, and it's a great concept.
I think my enjoyment really depended on the chapter I was on. I liked the leprosy hospital and black death chapters but chapters like the Thomas Becket one felt less connected to the theme of exploring what the bones could show and more like a general history lesson. From halfway on I wasn't really feeling engaged.
The author's passion for her work definitely comes through though, and it's a great concept.
May 27, 2024
In this third and final part of her trilogy using archaeology to tell the history of Britain, Roberts brings us to the medieval era and connections to modern times. She looks at bones found with leprosy and syphilis, mass graves for plague victims and those who met with violent ends as well as an anchorite and the men who went down with the Mary Rose. Absolutely fascinating how the advancements in science can tell us so much about our ancestors.
August 9, 2024
Fascinating and gorgeously done. One of the best medieval research I’ve read.
I’d love to sit in on a lecture by Dr. Roberts one day
I’d love to sit in on a lecture by Dr. Roberts one day
June 2, 2024
This books is fascinating and I learnt a lot. Very scientific though for a non-scientist/medic
June 1, 2024
This is just an excellently easy and fun series to read (assuming medieval syphilis is your idea of fun, of course). Roberts has a patter down, well, pat, and her case studies are nicely chosen to illustrate how modern technology is changing our understanding of the past. These are not overly technical books; Roberts keeps the focus firmly on what it all means and how it works, but there is enough to give that warm, learned-something glow.
This volume, the last in the series of three, focuses on what we can learn about health from medieval burials. This includes a better understanding of the past, as well as a better understanding of diseases that are still with us. The Black Death is probably a highlight (yes, it is that kind of book), as Roberts takes us through how genetic sequencing of the causal parasite has illuminated our understanding of likely transmission routes for bubonic plague. Not all her mysteries are so neatly solved, but there is something very heartening about the pace with which we are learning to interrogate the past and to understand how it all connects together.
This volume, the last in the series of three, focuses on what we can learn about health from medieval burials. This includes a better understanding of the past, as well as a better understanding of diseases that are still with us. The Black Death is probably a highlight (yes, it is that kind of book), as Roberts takes us through how genetic sequencing of the causal parasite has illuminated our understanding of likely transmission routes for bubonic plague. Not all her mysteries are so neatly solved, but there is something very heartening about the pace with which we are learning to interrogate the past and to understand how it all connects together.
April 17, 2024
Unfortunately, this wanted to be a lot and ended up being a not uninteresting but rather confused, unanchored and disjointed collection of papers. Not recommended if you are primarily interested in history and not biology.
September 3, 2024
3.5-3.75 *
This is clearly a thoroughly well researched book by someone passionate about their field of expertise. However, it often felt like I was reading an academic paper more than a well rounded book, especially when the author chose to become bogged down in the nuances of the science behind certain ailments. These sections were incredibly dry and repetitive. While I completely understand the need to validate one's conclusions by showing your working practice, that's when it verges into academia.
I wanted to something a little more accessible that focused on narrative - these moments could have easily made up part of the appendix instead, so reader's who want the nitty gritty of the science can choose to engage with it.
The historical moments chosen by Alice to demonstrate life, death & disease in the middle ages were really interesting - especially the final chapter which introduced me to the religious figure of the Anchoress. Someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life - literally walled up like a living prophet in the walls of a Church. How this could be linked to disease in women that might have ostracised them from society. But this was dwelt on very briefly in regards to a skeleton that, in the end, didn't add much to Robert's overall conversation about whether syphilis was present in Europe before Columbus "discovered" the Americas.
This is a good book, but it left me craving more.
This is clearly a thoroughly well researched book by someone passionate about their field of expertise. However, it often felt like I was reading an academic paper more than a well rounded book, especially when the author chose to become bogged down in the nuances of the science behind certain ailments. These sections were incredibly dry and repetitive. While I completely understand the need to validate one's conclusions by showing your working practice, that's when it verges into academia.
I wanted to something a little more accessible that focused on narrative - these moments could have easily made up part of the appendix instead, so reader's who want the nitty gritty of the science can choose to engage with it.
The historical moments chosen by Alice to demonstrate life, death & disease in the middle ages were really interesting - especially the final chapter which introduced me to the religious figure of the Anchoress. Someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life - literally walled up like a living prophet in the walls of a Church. How this could be linked to disease in women that might have ostracised them from society. But this was dwelt on very briefly in regards to a skeleton that, in the end, didn't add much to Robert's overall conversation about whether syphilis was present in Europe before Columbus "discovered" the Americas.
This is a good book, but it left me craving more.
January 12, 2025
As an audibook, voiced by Roberts herself, it was incredibly enjoyable and accessible. Though, I did struggle to process some of the chapters, it ultimately gave a really nice overview of diseases/crypts in the middle ages with a range of case studies - some more interesting than others.
September 4, 2024
I thought I knew quite a bit of British history but I’d never heard of St Brice’s Day massacre before so that part was interesting but some of the other stories were a bit boring, especially when no bodies were involved such as the chapter on Thomas Beckett.
October 6, 2024
I listened to the audiobook yesterday during 4 hours of train rides, and this morning with morning tea, but it had a hard time keeping my attention. It wasn't really what I thought it would be. Some interesting information aboyt history, ostheoarcheology, the scientific process of it all and middle age diseases, but I don't think I'll remember much from it 🤷♂�
March 12, 2025
I love when non-fiction manages to make me excited about subjects and disciplines I know next to nothing about. I do feel like I learned a lot from this book but I wish there was better balance between the historic context, the bones uncovered and the science of historic assessment of bones, how this affects our understanding of people during the Middle Ages and illness today. It is the latter that I picked this up for but I got huge chunks of historic context instead (there was genuinely a point where I stopped what I was doing to wonder why have we been going on about Thomas Becket's whole biography for at least 30min of audiobook runtime now.
This is a positive review, by the way; this is a positive rating. I only wish to give the headsup to those who may wander in looking for a lot of bone science.
This is a positive review, by the way; this is a positive rating. I only wish to give the headsup to those who may wander in looking for a lot of bone science.
July 17, 2024
I have never been interested in archaeology. I have never been interested in pre-industrial history. I now consider myself thoroughly converted by this book.
I really appreciated being taken along the journey of discovery, the questions you would ask at each point, the flaws of each piece of evidence that points us to something compelling but not 100% certain.
And there was such a wonderful argument for that relationship of equals between history and archaeology - what each can provide the other, with different perspectives on the past that weave together the tapestry of our understanding
I would absolutely recommend this book to anybody, one of the best nonfictions I've read in a while
I really appreciated being taken along the journey of discovery, the questions you would ask at each point, the flaws of each piece of evidence that points us to something compelling but not 100% certain.
And there was such a wonderful argument for that relationship of equals between history and archaeology - what each can provide the other, with different perspectives on the past that weave together the tapestry of our understanding
I would absolutely recommend this book to anybody, one of the best nonfictions I've read in a while
April 26, 2024
Man I love me some facts about old timey bones. Was more history focused than I expected but hey still fun and learned a lot about some fucked up shit that went down.
Also found my new dream job aka being an Anchoress aka a professional hermit who was allowed to have a cat and that people viewed as a celebrity for not ever leaving their room? Sign me tf up
Also found my new dream job aka being an Anchoress aka a professional hermit who was allowed to have a cat and that people viewed as a celebrity for not ever leaving their room? Sign me tf up
December 4, 2024
Dr Alice Roberts, thank you so much for providing me with an amazing, book that was a pleasure to read. Crypt is a thoroughly fascinating and insightful read that is well written and very accessible. A very timely and thought provoking book that is written to not only educate readers but to show respect to times past and those who lived and died within them.
March 20, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book by Alice Roberts. This is the third book in the series but it is mostly a self contained book so you don't miss much if you are not able to follow the three books in order as I have also not been able to do. Look forward to reading more books by Roberts.
April 20, 2025
I really enjoyed this one, Alice Roberts has such a captivating way of writing and she's always so good at making these ancient skeletons back into real people who lived and breathed, and often suffered. I particularly found the chapters on leprosy very interesting and insightful.
April 24, 2024
History told through the bones of medieval archaeology sites.
September 22, 2024
Fascinating read, very informative. Finishing this book had me feeling surprisingly emotional
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