Why a Medieval Woman Had Lapis Lazuli Hidden in Her Teeth

The Atlantic's Sarah Zhang shares the story of an unexpected discovery in the dental plaque of a one-thousand-year-old German woman, showing how a team of researchers including Alison Beach, Member (2013–14) and Visitor (2017) in the School of Historical Studies, is using historical analysis to piece together the life of a medieval female scribe.

"For a medieval historian," says Beach, whose research concerns the overlooked contributions of women to medieval book production, "this kind of clear material evidence of something from the life of an individual person is so extraordinary."

Read more at the Atlantic.