21 April 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Evidence of Medieval Plague Victims Buried With “Significant Care” Found

The Black Death, which killed between 40 and 60% of Europe’s population in the mid-14th century, was a devastating epidemic that ravaged the continent. Later waves of plague struck on a regular basis for several centuries.

Because plague kills so quickly that no visible evidence of illness remains on the bones, archaeologists had traditionally been unable to identify plague victims unless they were buried in mass graves. While it has long been assumed that most plague deaths were buried individually, this has been impossible to verify until recently.

Researchers from the After the Plague project, located at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Archaeology, detected the presence of Yersinia Pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, by analyzing DNA from the teeth of those who died at the time.

These include people who received normal individual burials at a parish cemetery and friary in Cambridge and in the nearby village of Clopton.

The study also shows that some plague victims in Cambridge did, indeed, receive mass burials.

Individuals buried in the chapter house of the Augustinian friary, Cambridge, who died of plague  Photo: Cambridge Archaeological Unit
Individuals buried in the chapter house of the Augustinian friary, Cambridge, who died of plague Photo: Cambridge Archaeological Unit

Yersinia Pestis was found in several parishioners from St Benet’s, who were buried together in a large trench excavated in the churchyard on behalf of Corpus Christi College by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit.

This section of the graveyard was shortly moved to Corpus Christi College, which was created by the St Bene’t’s parish guild to honor the deceased, including Black Death victims. For generations, members of the College would walk past the mass burial on their route to the parish church every day.

Lead author Craig Cessford of the University of Cambridge said, “These individual burials show that even during plague outbreaks individual people were being buried with considerable care and attention. This is shown particularly at the friary where at least three such individuals were buried within the chapter house. Cambridge Archaeological Unit conducted excavations on this site on behalf of the University in 2017.”

“The individual at the parish of All Saints by the Castle in Cambridge was also carefully buried; this contrasts with the apocalyptic language used to describe the abandonment of this church in 1365 when it was reported that the church was partly ruinous and ‘the bones of dead bodies are exposed to beasts’.”

Cessford concluded, “Our work demonstrates that it is now possible to identify individuals who died from plague and received individual burials. This greatly improves our understanding of the plague and shows that even in incredibly traumatic times during past pandemics people tried very hard to bury the deceased with as much care as possible.”

The study is published in the European Journal of Archaeology.( Open Access)

Cover photo: Plague victims in Perugia. Miniature from the manuscript of the vernacular text La Franeschina, Italy, 16th century.

Related Articles

Refurbishment at the Uffizi Gallery Revealed a Pair of Priceless Lost Renaissance Frescoes

24 April 2021

24 April 2021

A couple of construction workers discovered two Renaissance-era treasures while working on an extensive renovation project at Florence’s world-famous Uffizi...

Medieval Love badge with the written “Love conquers all” discovered in Poland

18 February 2024

18 February 2024

Polish archaeologists have discovered a late medieval badge: a piece of tin shaped into a turtle dover and with the...

Archaeologists Discovered Submerged Stoa Complex in Ancient Salamis, Greece

27 October 2023

27 October 2023

Archaeologists exploring the east coast of Salamis, the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, discovered a large, long, and...

A Gold Belt Weighing 432 Grams Unearthed During Excavations in Ani Ruins is on Display

2 July 2024

2 July 2024

The gold belt discovered 22 years ago during excavations in the ancient city of Ani, often referred to as the...

Archaeologists have found a mysterious prehistoric site, believed to be a 6,500-year-old Stone Age cemetery, near the Arctic Circle

4 December 2023

4 December 2023

Archaeologists have found a mysterious prehistoric site believed to be a 6,500-year-old Stone Age cemetery just 50 miles (80 kilometers)...

Roman-era Pottery Workshop discovered in Alexandria

29 April 2022

29 April 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission discovered a Roman-era pottery workshop at the site of Tibet Mutawah, west of Alexandria. The researchers...

2,000-year-old unique luxury Roman villa with “underfloor heating” found in Germany

3 November 2022

3 November 2022

A luxury Roman villa with a thermal bath and underfloor heating has been unearthed in Kempten, Bavaria, one of the...

Archaeologists explore Eastern Zhou Dynasty mausoleum in China’s Henan

30 January 2022

30 January 2022

An archaeological survey of a royal mausoleum of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 B.C.-256 B.C.) has been launched in central...

Monumental Roman complex discovered in France

19 March 2023

19 March 2023

In the city of Reims in northeastern France, archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman-era monumental complex dating from the 2nd...

Ancient Jordanian town referred to as Heshbon in the Old Testament provides insight into regional agricultural history

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

The American archaeologist stated that Tell Hisban, located on the Madaba plains of Jordan, represents the “granary of the empires”....

‘Remarkable Archaeological Find’ Metal detectorist unearths Roman cavalry swords in North Cotswolds

18 September 2023

18 September 2023

Authorities announced Monday that two incredibly rare Roman cavalry swords were uncovered in the Cotswolds, England, during a metal detectorist...

Marmore, the Highest and Oldest Artificial Waterfall in Europe, Created by the Romans

4 March 2024

4 March 2024

Approximately eight kilometers away from the town of Terni in Umbria, Italy, there is a waterfall that is one of...

2,300-year-old Punic tomb complex found during works on car park for staff

26 October 2024

26 October 2024

A 2,300-year-old Punic tomb was discovered during work in a car park near Mater Dei Hospital in Msida, Malta. The...

In Fraueninsel in Lake Chiemsee: Romanesque a central building hidden underground for 1,000 years discovered

25 February 2024

25 February 2024

On Fraueninsel, an island in Germany’s Lake Chiemsee, archaeologists discovered a cult site that may have been slumbering underground for...

Early Female Emperors in Japan “Empress Kōken”

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

Born into the aristocratic Fujiwara clan, this extraordinary woman first ascended to the throne as Empress Kōken and became the...