Archaeologists in Switzerland are excavating the cemetery of a medieval leprosy hospital, where more than 200 individuals have already been uncovered. The sprawling site in Schaffhausen includes the remains of a medieval chapel and cemetery, while one skeleton displays clear evidence of leprosy.
The rescue excavation is taking place at the Steig school in Schaffhausen, in northern Switzerland, where construction of a new gymnasium and additional classrooms prompted archaeological work beginning in September 2025. The site lies outside the medieval old town along an old route leading from Schaffhausen towards the Rhine Falls.
The excavation is expected to continue until the end of October. By then, the Cantonal Archaeology Department of Schaffhausen estimates that as many as 700 graves could have been uncovered, offering an unusually extensive record of some 700 years of burial and institutional history.
A medieval hospital outside the city
Archaeologists investigate the remains of the medieval leprosy hospital complex in Schaffhausen. Photo: Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen.
The institution at Steig was established in the late 13th century, at a time when people showing symptoms of leprosy and other infectious diseases were separated from the wider population.
Known as a Sondersiechenhaus, the complex included accommodation for the sick, a chapel, cemetery and its own water supply, with the entire site enclosed by a wall or fences. Those identified as suffering from leprosy were permitted to leave the grounds only while wearing distinctive clothing and carrying a rattle.
Although initially associated particularly with people suffering from infectious diseases, the institution soon took in people with other ailments and cared for them until their deaths. This means that the cemetery should not be understood simply as a burial ground for people with leprosy.
A fire in the early 14th century was followed by the rebuilding of the chapel. In 1470, the hospital itself was reconstructed as a substantial timber-framed building that survives today as part of the Steig retirement home. The last person recorded as entering the institution with leprosy did so in 1621, but the building subsequently continued to serve as a hospital, poorhouse and retirement home.
Much of the archaeological work is taking place beneath what until recently was the school playground. More than 200 individuals have so far been recovered, ranging from infants and children to adult men and women.
The cemetery was repeatedly enlarged during its long history, with new walls constructed around it. Graves lie densely beside and on top of one another, and later burials frequently disturbed earlier ones. Archaeologists have identified at least four phases of burial in the older part of the cemetery immediately south of the medieval chapel. Despite damage caused by later construction, more than 140 burials dating to the medieval and later periods survive in this area. Another 79 burials have been assigned to early modern and modern sections of the cemetery.
The human remains are being examined by anthropologists as they are uncovered. Some show evidence of illnesses, injuries and the physical effects of difficult lives.
The remains of an individual showing clear symptoms of leprosy in the feet. The upper body was destroyed during construction of the church in 1895. Photo: Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen.
One individual is particularly significant. The person’s feet have severely deformed toes that archaeologists describe as clear evidence of leprosy. Such evidence is important because leprosy generally leaves recognisable traces on bones only after a prolonged and severe course of the disease.
The individual’s upper body does not survive, having been destroyed during construction of a later church.
The excavation is also providing new information about the chapel associated with the hospital. Despite substantial damage caused by later construction, utility trenches, tree pits and other modern disturbances, archaeologists have identified at least three phases of the medieval building.
The earliest stone structure was built mainly from fieldstones. It was subsequently extended westwards and enlarged to the east with limestone masonry and a new polygonal chancel. Within the oldest structure, archaeologists found evidence for a plank floor supported by stacked clay tiles. A large limestone block used as an entrance threshold, together with cobblestone paving immediately outside, helps reveal the medieval ground level around the chapel.
The chapel stood between the cemetery and a garden area. Excavations in the garden have revealed pits containing numerous finds as well as postholes. Two brick-lined channels covered with limestone slabs provide physical evidence for the water system that supplied the complex.
The medieval chapel survived for centuries before being demolished in 1894 and replaced by a larger church. That church was damaged during the bombing of Schaffhausen on 1 April 1944 and was subsequently demolished.
What happens to the remains?
Photo: Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen.
Once fieldwork ends, researchers face the considerable task of processing the hundreds of burials. The bones will be cleaned, inventoried and stored before detailed anthropological analysis begins.
The demonstrably recent burials from the final period of the cemetery’s use will eventually be reinterred. Skeletons considered historically and archaeologically significant will instead be transferred to a specialist storage facility in Bottmingen, in the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, affiliated with the University of Basel.
Researchers hope that studying the cemetery as a whole will reveal much more than individual cases of disease. With burials spanning approximately seven centuries, the site provides an opportunity to examine changing patterns of health, illness and care, as well as how Schaffhausen treated some of its sickest and poorest inhabitants from the Middle Ages into the modern era.
Top Image: Archaeologists excavate a burial in the cemetery of the medieval leprosy hospital in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Photo: Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen.
Archaeologists in Switzerland are excavating the cemetery of a medieval leprosy hospital, where more than 200 individuals have already been uncovered. The sprawling site in Schaffhausen includes the remains of a medieval chapel and cemetery, while one skeleton displays clear evidence of leprosy.
The rescue excavation is taking place at the Steig school in Schaffhausen, in northern Switzerland, where construction of a new gymnasium and additional classrooms prompted archaeological work beginning in September 2025. The site lies outside the medieval old town along an old route leading from Schaffhausen towards the Rhine Falls.
The excavation is expected to continue until the end of October. By then, the Cantonal Archaeology Department of Schaffhausen estimates that as many as 700 graves could have been uncovered, offering an unusually extensive record of some 700 years of burial and institutional history.
A medieval hospital outside the city
The institution at Steig was established in the late 13th century, at a time when people showing symptoms of leprosy and other infectious diseases were separated from the wider population.
Known as a Sondersiechenhaus, the complex included accommodation for the sick, a chapel, cemetery and its own water supply, with the entire site enclosed by a wall or fences. Those identified as suffering from leprosy were permitted to leave the grounds only while wearing distinctive clothing and carrying a rattle.
Although initially associated particularly with people suffering from infectious diseases, the institution soon took in people with other ailments and cared for them until their deaths. This means that the cemetery should not be understood simply as a burial ground for people with leprosy.
A fire in the early 14th century was followed by the rebuilding of the chapel. In 1470, the hospital itself was reconstructed as a substantial timber-framed building that survives today as part of the Steig retirement home. The last person recorded as entering the institution with leprosy did so in 1621, but the building subsequently continued to serve as a hospital, poorhouse and retirement home.
More than 200 skeletons uncovered
Much of the archaeological work is taking place beneath what until recently was the school playground. More than 200 individuals have so far been recovered, ranging from infants and children to adult men and women.
The cemetery was repeatedly enlarged during its long history, with new walls constructed around it. Graves lie densely beside and on top of one another, and later burials frequently disturbed earlier ones. Archaeologists have identified at least four phases of burial in the older part of the cemetery immediately south of the medieval chapel. Despite damage caused by later construction, more than 140 burials dating to the medieval and later periods survive in this area. Another 79 burials have been assigned to early modern and modern sections of the cemetery.
The human remains are being examined by anthropologists as they are uncovered. Some show evidence of illnesses, injuries and the physical effects of difficult lives.
One individual is particularly significant. The person’s feet have severely deformed toes that archaeologists describe as clear evidence of leprosy. Such evidence is important because leprosy generally leaves recognisable traces on bones only after a prolonged and severe course of the disease.
The individual’s upper body does not survive, having been destroyed during construction of a later church.
Remains of the medieval chapel
The excavation is also providing new information about the chapel associated with the hospital. Despite substantial damage caused by later construction, utility trenches, tree pits and other modern disturbances, archaeologists have identified at least three phases of the medieval building.
The earliest stone structure was built mainly from fieldstones. It was subsequently extended westwards and enlarged to the east with limestone masonry and a new polygonal chancel. Within the oldest structure, archaeologists found evidence for a plank floor supported by stacked clay tiles. A large limestone block used as an entrance threshold, together with cobblestone paving immediately outside, helps reveal the medieval ground level around the chapel.
The chapel stood between the cemetery and a garden area. Excavations in the garden have revealed pits containing numerous finds as well as postholes. Two brick-lined channels covered with limestone slabs provide physical evidence for the water system that supplied the complex.
The medieval chapel survived for centuries before being demolished in 1894 and replaced by a larger church. That church was damaged during the bombing of Schaffhausen on 1 April 1944 and was subsequently demolished.
What happens to the remains?
Once fieldwork ends, researchers face the considerable task of processing the hundreds of burials. The bones will be cleaned, inventoried and stored before detailed anthropological analysis begins.
The demonstrably recent burials from the final period of the cemetery’s use will eventually be reinterred. Skeletons considered historically and archaeologically significant will instead be transferred to a specialist storage facility in Bottmingen, in the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, affiliated with the University of Basel.
Researchers hope that studying the cemetery as a whole will reveal much more than individual cases of disease. With burials spanning approximately seven centuries, the site provides an opportunity to examine changing patterns of health, illness and care, as well as how Schaffhausen treated some of its sickest and poorest inhabitants from the Middle Ages into the modern era.
Top Image: Archaeologists excavate a burial in the cemetery of the medieval leprosy hospital in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Photo: Kantonsarchäologie Schaffhausen.
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