Columbus cleared of importing syphilis from America after skeletons from two centuries earlier show signs of disease

Christopher Columbus and his crew have long been blamed for syphilis back from the Americas to Europe after their historic first voyage.

A syphilitic skull with the tell-tale indentations on the forehead

In 1493 they returned to Spain bringing news of lands across the Atlantic and the first cases of the potentially deadly disease thanks to their exploits abroad, it was believed.

But now scientists have found evidence that the disease existed in Europe long before Columbus was even born.
A new discovery in London may prove that syphilis exists ed in Europe far earlier than previously thought


Skeletons unearthed in a cemetery at a church in East London show signs of the disease up to two centuries before the explorer first set sail.

Archaelogists excavating bones from St Mary Spital in East London found rough patches on skulls and limbs of some of the skeletons, telling evidence of syphilis.

Brian Connell, an expert from the Museum of London who studied the bones, said he had no doubt that the skeletons were buried before Columbus’ voyage. Radiocarbon dating of the samples is estimated to be 95 percent accurate.

Previous findings of early syphilitic bones have been inconclusive.

Mr Connell said: ‘We’re confident that Christopher Columbus is simply not a feature of the emergence and timing of the disease in Europe,’ he told The Times.

‘This puts the nail in the coffin of the Columbus theory.’

Two of the syphilitic skeletons unearthed at St Mary Spital are from 1200 - 1250 while the other five are from 1250 – 1400. They were buried with coins and other objects that helped the experts corroborate the radiocarbon dating results.

The site was named after the hospital nearby in the City of London and the skeleton were probably victims of the disease who were patients there.

One of the skeletons belong to a child who would have been blind, bald and had teeth that grew at a 45 degree angle through its jaw because of the disease.


Mr Connell said: ‘IT would have had gross facial disfigurement, which would have been very distressing for the child, who was about 10 years old when it died.

‘The skull, which should have been smooth, looks like a lunar landscape. It caused a bit of a stir when it was found because the symptoms are so obvious.’

Syphilis causes serious damage to the heart, brain, eyes and bones and if untreated can be fatal. It is carried by the bacterium Treponema palladium.

In an era hundreds of years before the discovery of antibiotics, syphilis quickly spread and was soon the scourge of every major city.

Ever since the first recorded case in Europe took place in 1495 - three years after Columbus's first voyage to the New World - doctors have argued over its origins.

Some have claimed that it existed in Europe in ancient times. But others have claimed it was the price of those early and often violent visits to Latin America.

Columbus was once credited with being the first European to reach the Americas, but it is now thought that the Vikings made the journey several centuries earlier.

Soon after syphilis crossed the Atlantic, the Europeans were quick to blame each other. It was called the French, the Naples and the Venetian disease.

But across the Atlantic, diseases carried from Europe were causing far greater havoc. Millions of Native Americans died of measles, flu and smallpox exported from Europe.

By Niall Firth

Columbus cleared of importing syphilis from America after skeletons from two centuries earlier show signs of disease

Christopher Columbus and his crew have long been blamed for syphilis back from the Americas to Europe after their historic first voyage.

A syphilitic skull with the tell-tale indentations on the forehead

In 1493 they returned to Spain bringing news of lands across the Atlantic and the first cases of the potentially deadly disease thanks to their exploits abroad, it was believed.

But now scientists have found evidence that the disease existed in Europe long before Columbus was even born.
A new discovery in London may prove that syphilis exists ed in Europe far earlier than previously thought


Skeletons unearthed in a cemetery at a church in East London show signs of the disease up to two centuries before the explorer first set sail.

Archaelogists excavating bones from St Mary Spital in East London found rough patches on skulls and limbs of some of the skeletons, telling evidence of syphilis.

Brian Connell, an expert from the Museum of London who studied the bones, said he had no doubt that the skeletons were buried before Columbus’ voyage. Radiocarbon dating of the samples is estimated to be 95 percent accurate.

Previous findings of early syphilitic bones have been inconclusive.

Mr Connell said: ‘We’re confident that Christopher Columbus is simply not a feature of the emergence and timing of the disease in Europe,’ he told The Times.

‘This puts the nail in the coffin of the Columbus theory.’

Two of the syphilitic skeletons unearthed at St Mary Spital are from 1200 - 1250 while the other five are from 1250 – 1400. They were buried with coins and other objects that helped the experts corroborate the radiocarbon dating results.

The site was named after the hospital nearby in the City of London and the skeleton were probably victims of the disease who were patients there.

One of the skeletons belong to a child who would have been blind, bald and had teeth that grew at a 45 degree angle through its jaw because of the disease.


Mr Connell said: ‘IT would have had gross facial disfigurement, which would have been very distressing for the child, who was about 10 years old when it died.

‘The skull, which should have been smooth, looks like a lunar landscape. It caused a bit of a stir when it was found because the symptoms are so obvious.’

Syphilis causes serious damage to the heart, brain, eyes and bones and if untreated can be fatal. It is carried by the bacterium Treponema palladium.

In an era hundreds of years before the discovery of antibiotics, syphilis quickly spread and was soon the scourge of every major city.

Ever since the first recorded case in Europe took place in 1495 - three years after Columbus's first voyage to the New World - doctors have argued over its origins.

Some have claimed that it existed in Europe in ancient times. But others have claimed it was the price of those early and often violent visits to Latin America.

Columbus was once credited with being the first European to reach the Americas, but it is now thought that the Vikings made the journey several centuries earlier.

Soon after syphilis crossed the Atlantic, the Europeans were quick to blame each other. It was called the French, the Naples and the Venetian disease.

But across the Atlantic, diseases carried from Europe were causing far greater havoc. Millions of Native Americans died of measles, flu and smallpox exported from Europe.

By Niall Firth

NFU fights bid to release beavers

THE country's biggest farming body says fears over exotic diseases is a key reason why it could not support the controversial re-introduction of beavers in the Westcountry.

Embryonic proposals to employ European beavers at the 730-acre Roadford Lake in rural West Devon is the most advanced scheme in England to return the native species to the wild.

The South West Water plan has been met with scepticism by landowners who are worried about the consequences of felled trees and damaged building.

Prized for their fur, their meat and their scent glands, the rodent was once native to England until hunted to extinction 400 years ago.

Speaking to the Western Morning News, the countryside adviser to the National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the potential spread of viruses, including bluetongue and African horse sickness, was among a number of "big question marks" that loomed large over the plan.

Dr Andrea Graham, who this month visited West Devon with the union's animal health and welfare adviser and its regional environment adviser, is also concerned about a worrying lack of scientific data to support claims the beaver dams will help purify drinking water.

Dr Graham conceded that the ponds, wetlands and meadows formed by beaver dams had exceptional benefits for biodiversity. "You couldn't get a landscape designer to create what they create," she said. But she warned that creating richer habitats was "just one element".

Re-introduction would be a "costly luxury" in the current straitened economic climate, she argued, as the costs allied to beaver management, flood risk and quarantine procedures could be "significant". Halting the decline in existing resident wildlife was of more paramount concern, she added.

Dr Graham said: "The NFU could not support the re-introduction. There are too many question marks over the science available and a lack of information on possible disease. Also, there is still a beaver on the loose. That does not instil us with confidence in the capacity to manage it."
South West Water has said that if its "leap of faith" worked, water bills would come down for households across the region, as beaver dams would be among a parcel of "natural" alternatives to investing tens of millions of pounds in upgrading water treatment facilities.

But the NFU said it had not seen "good scientific evidence" to indicate purification would work. Dr Graham said: "Regarding Roadford Lake, the problem is that South West Water is supporting this in terms of water quality.

"Biodiversity is part of the issue, but they are saying they want to re-introduce beaver to improve the quality of the river. But to date, we have not seen good scientific evidence to show that the beaver would be able to do that."

Other issues included the potential for flooding in low-lying areas, that there were no naturally resident predators of beavers in England, and that beavers, in time, would attain the same protected status as the badger. Disease transmission, a growing concern as "new and emerging exotic diseases continue", was arguably a largely unknown area of potential risk.

She said: "One area we are concerned about is the biosecurity implications that have not been addressed. For example, with climate change, we are beginning to see different diseases. We're talking about diseases such as bluetongue and African horse sickness, transmitted by biting midges. What they like is standing water, and that is the environment beavers create."

"There just is not currently enough science to allay fears of any disease risks for us to put a stamp of approval on it."

The beaver that escaped from an enclosure in West Devon was also worrying.

She said: "You still also have the escapee. The fact it has been on the loose for so long is a bit disappointing."

The NFU was happy to be the bridge between those wanting to re-introduce beavers and landowners by helping to develop forums. Farmers could then be clearer on understanding the impacts because there "seems to be a some serious communications problems. But that's as far as the NFU's support can go."

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/NFU-hits-bid-release-beavers/article-1095091-detail/article.html