Today, I encountered a 300-year-old skeleton with a better haircut than me. Normally (and this kind of situation is increasingly normal for me) such a meeting might depress my mood for the day. But these hirsute remains belong to such a stimulating display that I soon perked up.

The Wellcome Collection’s Skeletons exhibition is attracting Londoners both ancient and modern. Two dozen former denizens have been disinterred from the Museum of London’s bone stores to meet their descendents. Laid out in glass cabinets, the necrocopia illustrates the social history of London through 16 centuries. Diseases, dietary habits and working conditions are all written into the bones, if you know how to read them. Information panels help the visitor identify rickets, osteosclerosis and syphilitic scars, and how to judge the age of remains from telltale signs. For example, I learnt why Romans had excellent, if worn-down, teeth by staring one in the mouth, and other ossific specifics.

After visiting, make sure you follow up on the Wellcome’s website, where interactive features reveal more about the burial sites and analytical techniques used to piece together these long forgotten life stories.

The exhibition runs until 28 September. If you’re coming along on the science tour of London ahead of the blogging conference, this will be one of the stops.