[ad_1]
Archaeologists excavating ahead of the construction of a new nursing home in the German city of Nuremberg have uncovered what may be the largest mass grave of plague victims ever discovered in Europe. .
Excavations are ongoing, but so far the centuries-old remains of more than 500 people have been unearthed, and researchers believe up to 1,500 people may have been buried here.
Precise dating has also not yet been done, but preliminary estimates suggest that the eight plague pits were created around the first half of the 17th century. Der Spiegel reports that some of the bones are stained green because for some time the site was used to dispose of waste from a nearby copper factory.
Archaeologist Melanie Langbein and chief anthropologist Florian Meltzer from Nuremberg’s Cultural Heritage Protection Agency said: “We plan to secure and preserve all human remains that will be discovered in the future construction area.”
“We currently believe that once construction is completed in the spring, this will be the largest emergency cemetery for plague victims excavated in Europe.”
The bubonic plague is associated with many of history’s most devastating pandemics, primarily the Black Death of the 14th century and the Justinian Plague that began in the 6th century. However, highly contagious flea-borne infections frequently re-emerged in small outbreaks throughout the era. After the Black Death in Europe, regional epidemics recurred for about 400 years, ravaging cities.
Nuremberg was no exception. The city is also home to St. Rochs, the famous cemetery dedicated to the plague. But what In Terra Veritas archaeologists discovered during what they thought was a routine pre-construction diligence inspection was no cemetery. The silent bones spoke of something more desperate and devastating.
“Nuremberg designated a plague cemetery, but these people were not buried in regular cemeteries,” Langbein told CNN’s Jack Guy. “This means that large numbers of the dead need to be buried in a short period of time, regardless of Christian burial practices.”
Plague leaves no visible traces on the bones of its victims, so more research needs to be done to confirm the diagnosis.DNA analysis of bones is expected to confirm traces of the plague bacteria plague bacterium. However, several lines of dating point to plague as the most likely explanation.
Radiocarbon dating of artifacts from one of the tombs dates them to the late 15th to early 17th century, while coins and pottery shards found there date to the early 20th century. . They also discovered a note from 1634 stating that a plague broke out in Nuremberg in 1632 and 1633, killing a reported 15,000 people.
According to the memo, about 2,000 of them are buried at the current excavation site.
But the implications of this discovery go far beyond how people died. All the ruins must be excavated and carefully relocated so that scientists can study them to obtain a unique snapshot of Nuremberg’s history.
Nuremberg Mayor Markus König said: “This discovery is of great importance far beyond the region.”
“The tombs contain the remains of children and the elderly, men and women. The plague was not limited to gender, age or social status. For the first time, empirically reliable evidence for large population groups of the period “An analysis that can be carried out for a city of the importance of Nuremberg is now possible. Needless to say, a discovery of this historical and archaeological importance must be treated carefully and appropriately.” It must be done.”
[ad_2]
Source link
