Discovery revealed eight plague pits in city, possibly housing more than 1,500 bodies
In a shocking discovery, archaeologists excavating in the German city of Nuremberg found what could be the largest mass grave in Europe, containing almost 1,000 human skeletons. bbc reported.
The remains were discovered during an archaeological survey before the construction of new residential buildings in the city.
According to a press release, the discovery revealed eight plague pits in the city, possibly housing more than 1,500 corpses.
These individuals were not buried in regular cemeteries, indicating that they had to be buried early, possibly due to a plague-like epidemic that hit Nuremberg, explained Melanie Langbein of the Nuremberg Heritage Preservation Department.
The timing of finding the bodies has been a challenge, as Nuremberg has seen a plague every decade since the 14th century. Radiocarbon dating has linked one of the mass graves to the 1400s and early 1600s, with artifacts and a document detailing the 1634 plague outbreak showing that the ancient remains may belong to the epidemic of 1632-1633.
Julian Decker, who discovered it unexpectedly while supervising excavations, estimated that the number of bodies could exceed 2,000, making it the largest tomb in Europe.
Langbein argued that the epidemic of 1632-1633 was aggravated by the effects of the Thirty Years' War and brought terrible conditions to the population.
The tomb was intended for a different segment of the population at that time and allowed researchers to examine demographic characteristics and health indicators.
