48 Bodies Dug Out Of The Ground At Black Plague Burial Site In England
A mass burial was discovered at Black Plague Burial Site near Immingham, in North Lincolnshire by a team from Sheffield University’s Department of Archaeology, where 48 skeletons were found. 27 skeletons were children.
According to Fox News, Archeologists from Sheffield University’s Department in England discovered 48 skeletons of victims of the Black Death in a mass grave. The pit was excavated over three summers and on the DNK analysis, in the skeleton’s teeth the Yersinia pestis, bacteria, and bubonic plague was found. Radiocarbon dating has placed the site historically in the 14th century. Dr. Hugh Willmott described the excavation as a very unexpected and unique find. He said the burial pit was found in 2013 but the complex research just came through after getting the radiocarbon and DNA results. The archeologists also found a small pendant known as a Tau Cross which was used by some people as a supposed cure for a condition called St Anthony’s fire.
According to Independent UK, the presence of such burial site which included men, women, and children suggests the community was overwhelmed by Black Death and left unable to cope with the number of people who died. The Black Death is the worst pandemics in human history. It devastated European population and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people. Presumably, the disease reached Lincolnshire in the spring of 1349. Dr. Willmott said that while the skeletons are interesting, they represent the end of somebody’s life and the only way to connect with them is through the everyday objects they left behind.
According to The Telegraph News, the teeth samples from the skeletons revealed the presence of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the plague. Dr. Diana Mahoney Swales said once the skeletons return to the lab, they will start to learn who these people really are.
