The Winchester Pilgrim

The Winchester Pilgrim
Recent archaeological work at the medieval hospital of St Mary Magdalen, Winchester, conducted by the Department of Archaeology have revealed an interesting connection between the City and the important pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Excavations revealed the burial of a mature male buried just outside of the medieval chapel within a carefully designed anthropomorphic grave with head niche. The individual exhibited no sign of disease but was accompanied by a single artefact: a scallop shell; the traditional symbol of a pilgrimage to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The shell, which had two small inserts drilled into it, was probably fitted onto the pilgrim’s bag or scrip. This evidence suggests that the pilgrim had likely once completed the arduous journey, one of the three ‘great’ medieval pilgrimages, and had taken his precious token with him into the grave. The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was certainly well established by the early Middle Ages. In 1114 there was a church in Winchester dedicated to St James the Apostle, and the New Minster (built c. 901) reportedly had a relic of the apostle.