Thread by @TheOnionGoddess

1/ As the world enters it's 3rd year of the #COVID19 Pandemic, let's look at the archaeological evidence about past plagues. Today on #Archaeology_Online a #thread about archaeology from the time of the black plague. >>
#coronavirus #Archaeology
@nickfshort @nidgethompson

2/ >> The Black Death rampaged through Europe between 1346-1353 CE, between 75-200 million people are estimated to have died during that period.
An excavation that took place in 2016 at Thornton Abbey in North Lincolnshire, founds some clear evidence. >>

3/ >> During the excavations 48 skeletons were discovered in a mass 14th century grave, according to research half of the skeletons were of children. This is without a doubt evidence, that also correaltes with wrtitten sources, about the impact of the plague on this community. >>

4/ >> DNA testing of the teeth of the skeletons yielded results that showed the presence of the Yersinia pestis bacteria, the bacteria that is responsible for the famous Black Plague. going by the numbers alone, it could be that the whole viallge died. >>

5/ >> But archaeological evidence for the Black Plague was found not only in Britian. Excavations held since 2012 on the grounds of the 14th-century Basilica of Saints Justus and Pastor also yielded an unexpected mass grave. >>

6/ >> The mass grave contained of 120 plague victims, they were found buried in a lined up manner, each row 11 bodies deep, and they were covered in linen. Just like with thew skeletons in Britain, DNA tests on the teeth showed the presence of Yersinia pestis. >>

7/ >> These are two examples in which archaeology helps to understand the affects of the Black Plague on the population of the time. These examples show how some communities were completley erased, an event that surely held much weight on sorrounding comunities.

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