Mass grave with 1,000 skeletons found: “plague pit”

Archaeologists say they have discovered what may be the largest mass grave ever excavated in Europe at a site in southern Germany. According to the press release, approximately 1,000 skeletons of plague victims have so far been found in mass graves in the city center of Nuremberg. At the same time, according to experts, there may be a total of more than 1,500 people in the grave

The remains were discovered during archaeological research before the construction of new residential buildings in Nuremberg, CNN reports.

Melanie Langbein of Nuremberg’s cultural heritage department told CNN that eight plague pits were discovered, each containing several hundred bodies.

“These people were not buried in a regular cemetery, although we designated plague cemeteries in Nuremberg,” notes Langbein.

“This means a large number of dead people who had to be buried in a short time without taking into account Christian burial practices,” she said.

Because of this, Langbein said, mass graves are “more than likely” due to an epidemic such as the plague.

Since the 14th century, there have been outbreaks of plague in Nuremberg about every 10 years, she said, making it difficult to date the remains.

Archaeologists used radiocarbon dating to date one mass grave to between the late 1400s and early 1600s, and found shards of pottery and coins at the site dating to later than the end of this period.

The scientists also discovered a 1634 note detailing a plague outbreak that killed more than 15,000 people in 1632-1633, saying nearly 2,000 people were buried near St. Sebastian’s Spital, the site of the current excavation, Langbein said.

This evidence led the team to conclude that the older group of remains likely dated from the 1632-1633 epidemic.

Julian Decker, whose company Terra Veritas is conducting the excavation, told CNN he was surprised by the find.

“There was no reason to believe there were burials in that field,” he said, adding that when the first remains were discovered, he thought they might have been the result of World War II bombing.

Decker now believes there may be more than 1,500 bodies at the site.

“I personally expect the number to reach 2,000 or even higher, which would make this the largest mass grave in Europe,” he said.

Langbein tells CNN that the epidemic of 1632-1633 was worse than those that came before due to the effects of the Thirty Years’ War, a series of conflicts that involved various European countries from 1618 to 1648.

“Nuremberg was surrounded by various troops and the population lived in quite difficult conditions,” she said.

The researchers say the graves contain a representative sample of society at the time, allowing them to study the characteristics of the population.

“We can statistically examine the size and demographics of a city using the same tools that a modern census team used to conduct a recent census,” Decker said, including the percentage of children to adults, women to men and overall health.

“Technically we could figure out what percentage were left-handed,” he added.

The next step is to complete the excavation and clean and analyze the bone material, Langbein told CNN. She added that there would also be collaboration with institutions interested in certain aspects of the findings, including analysis of the plague genome and the study of parasite eggs in soil.

“We are also planning an exhibition, but that will take some time, so autumn 2025 is the earliest we can be ready,” states Langbein.