Archaeologists in London begun their operation to dig around 3,000 skeletons from a burial ground believed to be of the victims of the Great Plague. The site was getting developed to become a new train station in the New Liverpool Street.
It was reported that for the next month 60 researchers will work in six shifts to remove the skeletons from the Bedlam burial site. Authorities said the skeletons will be reburied at a cemetery in London.
Crossrail is building a new east-west train line at that site. The cemetery was unearthed by the workers from the Crossrail. They confirmed that, the digging work is carried out by an archaeology team from the Museum of London. In a statement, the lead Archaeologist on the Crossrail project, Jay Carver said, “This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners”.
In another statement Crossrail said, the archaeologists will examine the bones to “shed light on migration patterns, diet, lifestyle and demography of Londoners at the time”. The statement also stated that, “Archaeologists hope that tests on excavated plague victims will help understand the evolution of the plague bacteria strain”. According to archaeologists the burial site in Bedlam was used during 1569 to 1738. Crossrail also confirmed that they had discovered horseshoes and cremation urns from the ancient roman times at the same site.
Jay carver said, “The Bedlam burial ground spans a fascinating phase of London’s history, including the transition from the Tudor-period City into cosmopolitan early-modern London”.
In another statement Nick Elsden from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) said, “There are up to six meters of archaeology on site in what is one of the oldest areas of the city, so we stand to learn a great deal”. Crossrail said, their team had already discovered 10,000 artifacts in different excavations from 40 sites. It was previously reported that, 400 skeletons were unearthed at the Liverpool Street in 2013 and 2014.