A team of archaeologists has found eight mass graves with more than a thousand human skeletons in the vicinity of Nuremberg (south), a burial site that would be the largest in Germany, and possibly in Europe, according to the archaeologist in charge Melanie Langbein. . .
Researchers suggest that most of the bodies buried in the graves died from the plague, so the excavation has great scientific value that could provide important information about the development of this infection in the region.
Likewise, scientists calculate that these people would have died during the first half of the 17th century. Between 1632 and 1633 there was a large wave of plague in Nuremberg, which caused more than 15,000 deaths, Langbein reported.
Could there are more graves
The human skeletal remains were found last August, when an excavation company was working in the area that is destined to build a residence and apartments for the elderly.
So far, eight mass graves have been found on the 5,900 square meter plot, but it is presumed that there could be more.
The bones are well preserved.
Because the bones are very fragile and the bodies in the tombs lie in many overlapping layers, the excavation work is very complex.
Some of the skeletons are damaged due to the impact of a bomb during World War II. However, the dead overall are relatively well preserved, Langbein said.
Elderly, children, women and men.
Among the remains found there are children, the elderly, women and men, that is, a representative sample of the population of the time.
Remains of clothing, such as buttons, buttonholes and hooks, were found next to the skeletons. Some of the dead were even buried in shrouds, while others appear to have simply been thrown away.
According to specialists, there are also indications that the site contains remains of a cholera epidemic from the 19th century.
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