While excavating the gardens of Leicester Cathedral for the future construction of a learning center, archaeologists uncovered one of the largest mass burial pits ever discovered in the UK.
Archaeologists initially suspected that this 12th-century burial pit containing the remains of 123 people were victims of the Black Death, but radiocarbon dating revealed that the graves predate the disease by about 150 years.
Researchers questioned whether famine or disease was to blame for the deaths because, despite the size of the burial, no signs of violence were discovered. They are now trying to figure out what led to such an abrupt mass casualty incident.
The team, led by Mathew Morris, Project Officer at the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, concluded that the pit was filled rapidly in three successive deposits.
Morris, in an interview published by The Guardian, stated that the bodies appear to have been brought in cartloads and dropped into the shaft within a short period. He estimated the buried individuals represented about 5 percent of Leicester’s medieval population.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles repeatedly mention great pestilences and fevers, severe mortality, and miserable deaths from hunger and famine in England from the mid-10th century through to the mid-12th century, said Morris. “This mass burial fits within this timeframe and provides physical proof of what was then occurring across the nation.”
To find the pathogens that could be responsible for the mass deaths, samples have been sent to the Francis Crick Institute in London. The lack of clothing remnants indicates that the bodies were prepared consciously, and burial customs allude to civic organization even in emergencies.
The burial pit was discovered during work for a heritage learning center, which followed the unearthing of Richard III’s remains in 2012.
The identity of Leicester Cathedral as a house of worship, a destination for pilgrims, and a tourist destination was drastically altered when King Richard III’s remains were found in a parking lot in Leicester. His body was reburied in a purpose-built tomb at Leicester Cathedral in 2015, triggering an increase in the number of visitors to the church.
To keep up with the influx of guests, officials approved plans to build a heritage learning center in the cathedral’s gardens. Archaeologists were brought in to excavate the site ahead of construction — and they revealed nearly 1,200 burials spanning over eight centuries, offering a unique glimpse into Leicester’s past.
Cover Image Credit: Mathew Morris / ULAS
