It required the patient excavation of common burials, the analysis of animal bone and plant remains, the study of everyday objects like pottery and tools, the application of scientific methods that could extract information from material that was not impressive to look at.

Bioarchaeology, the study of human skeletal remains in their archaeological context, has been central to this shift.

A grave like Conquest Man’s is not particularly impressive in its material richness compared to the treasure-filled tombs of rulers and elites.

But the combination of the skeleton, the grave goods, the burial context, and the scientific analysis that can now be applied to these materials produces a picture of a person and a period that is, in its own way, as revealing as any golden artifact.

The techniques that have made this possible, ancient DNA sequencing, isotope analysis, osteological profiling, forensic facial reconstruction, represent decades of methodological development that have transformed what can be learned from a medieval skeleton.