Nuremberg plague grave: Excavations nearly complete, analyses to follow
In Nuremberg, archaeologists are in the final stages of unearthing thousands of centuries-old bones. There are up to 3000 plague victims.
Bones unearthed in Nuremberg.
(Image: In Terra Verita)
The excavations at the largest plague cemetery in Germany are slowly coming to an end. According to city archaeologist Melanie Langbein, the remains of more than 2,000 dead people from the 17th century have been uncovered at the site in Nuremberg. "We have already received several inquiries from research institutes", Langbein told heise online. Some of the bones will soon be sent to the Max Planck Institute at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig for DNA analysis.
(Image: In Terra Veritas)
The bodies were found in many layers on top of each other and some were up to one and a half meters deep underground. Several hundred plague victims still have to be uncovered – with up to 3000 dead to be expected. Due to the waste from a former copper mill on the site in the neighborhood, some of the bones are stained green. Scientists can use the bones to find out, among other things, what deficiencies and illnesses the people had, how hard they had to work and much more. People from all population groups were found.
According to Langbein, tooth abrasion can be used to draw conclusions about social status. "There was more abrasion from the stone mills in the cheap flour, so the teeth were worn down more", explains Langbein. It was even possible to extract the DNA of the plague pathogen from the teeth of the dead and find out more about its development during the plague.
In his bachelor's thesis, budding entomologist Luca Zehner is also studying the insects on the corpses, or rather their traces, which provide information about the time of death. According to his investigations from the mass grave so far, a population of around 50 ground beetles had settled in a single skull alone.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (Google Ireland Limited) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
This happens in winter in the eye or nasal cavities because it is "nice and cozy and warm" there and the brain provides sufficient food. For example, blowflies and cheese flies like melted tissue, which occurs when it is warm outside and the corpse melts relatively quickly. He also found the pupae of other insects – Zehner could not yet say whether these were other beetles or flies.
However, it is also possible that individual insects have left cross traces, for example if they happen to stray into the grave. That is why it is important to analyze 20 to 25 percent of the finds. Zehner uses a reflected light microscope with a magnification of up to 160x for his work, which is completely sufficient. One of the things he wants to find out with his research is the order in which the graves were laid out.
(mack)