[Hobbslefthand]

Quote:

Archaeologists working on the Crossrail project have discovered a historical burial ground in central London. A total of 13 skeletons have been uncovered, and are believed to be up to 660 years old. The relics have been found on the edge of Charterhouse Square in Farringdon: an area of London mentioned by historical records as having contained a burial ground that opened in 1348. Up to 50,000 victims of the 'Black Death' plague may have been buried in the hastily established cemetery. Crossrail is a new railway line that will run under the centre of London, due to open in 2018.

The depth of the burials, the pottery dated up until 1350 found in the graves and the layout of the skeletons all point to the likelihood that these skeletons were buried in Charterhouse Square during the 'Black Death' plague around 1349. The graves have been laid out in a similar formation as skeletons discovered in a 'Black Death' site in east Smithfield in the 1980s.

The skeletons are being carefully excavated and taken to the Museum of London Archaeology for laboratory testing. The scientists are hoping to map the DNA signature of the plague bacteria and hopefully contribute to the continuing debate concerning the causes of the 'Black Death'. The bones may also be radio carbon dated to try and establish the burial dates.

The lead archaeologist on the Crossrail project, Jay Carver, said: 'This is a highly significant discovery and at the moment we are left with many questions that we hope to answer. We will be undertaking scientific tests on the skeletons over the coming months to establish their cause of death, whether they were plague victims from the 14th Century or later London residents, how old they were and perhaps evidence of who they were.'
Charterhouse Square had previously been identified as a possible site for the lost burial ground as it was one of the few locations in Farringdon to remain undeveloped for the past 700 years. In 1998, a single skeleton was discovered buried at Charterhouse Square when archaeologists were investigating the location of a chapel shown on historic maps. On its own, this was not enough evidence to confirm a burial ground.

Two years ago, during utility works in Charterhouse Street, Crossrail archaeologists located human bones that had previously been disturbed and suggested a burial ground could be nearby. The latest discoveries are are not the first skeletons to be found during the Crossrail project. Archaeologists have already uncovered more than 300 burials at the New Cemetery near the site of the Bedlam Hospital at Liverpool Street from the 1500s to 1700s.

The discoveries at the Farringdon site are part of the UK’s largest archaeology programme, taking place across more than 40 Crossrail locations. Among the other artefacts that have been found so far include the UK’s largest piece of amber ever discovered, bones from huge prehistoric animals that roamed the iced-covered London plains, and items used by humans during the Bronze Age, Roman and medieval eras.

[Faline]

Awesome discovery

[Smackeddie]

saw this this morning and thought..
"well dont fucking dig them up then!!"

[kellyhound]

fucking cool

[ices]

I wonder if the disease is still present?

Even though we do have a cure for it these days you can only wonder IF it mutates into something worse.

[bdjackass318]

Great post! I love history and this part of history really fascinates me. Thank you.

[knuggy]

Originally Posted by ices ↗

I wonder if the disease is still present?

Even though we do have a cure for it these days you can only wonder IF it mutates into something worse.

It is indeed.........
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...86H1LC20120718

[IC10021]

There are three main forms of plague, all of which are caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis.The difference between the versions of plague is simply the location of the infection in the body; the bubonic plague is an infection of the lymphatic system, the pneumonic plague is an infection of the respiratory system, and the septicemic plague is an infection in the blood stream.All three are caused by the same bacterium, Yersinia pestis.Only Pneumonic plague is spread directly human to human. All three generate from a bite from an infected flea but the pneumonic version can be spread to a healthy person by inhaling infected sneeze/cough droplets. It is the most virulent and deadly form.In the Oregon case, it was a flea bite from a flea hosted by either the mouse or the cat.

[Pyramid_Head]

What a strange and eerie thing to find.

[ices]

The pneumonic version, common cold and ebola virus mixed into one.

End of days scenario and thank fuck they dont mix with each other.