London's Historic Mass Graveyard to Be Excavated for Project Crossrail, 3,000 Skeletons to be Studied

Nearly 3,000 skeletons buried at the Bedlam burial ground will be excavated in the coming months.

According to CNN, the burial ground was used between 1569 and 1738 for those who could not afford a church burial. The skeletons also include victims of the Great Plague of 1665, English Civil War and Great Fire of London. Sixty archaeologists will work at the site near the entrance of the proposed Liverpool Street Crossrail Station for a month to excavate the remains.

"This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners. The Bedlam burial ground spans a fascinating phase of London's history, including the transition from the Tudor-period City into cosmopolitan early-modern London. This is probably the first time a sample of this size from this time period has been available for archaeologists to study in London. The Bedlam burial ground was used by a hugely diverse population from right across the social spectrum and from different areas of the City," Jay Carver, Crossrail's lead archaeologist, reportedly said.

Project Crossrail is a $ 22 billion project to expand London's railway network. The artifacts will then be tested before being reburied. According to Crossrail more than 10,000 artifacts at 40 construction sites spanning 55 million years.