Thirteen bodies are discovered at the time of the Black Death

Excavations of a rail project have enabled the discovery in London of thirteen bodies and remains of pottery dating from the mid-fourteenth century and which seem to belong to the time of the Black Death. It was already known that in that area there was a cemetery but its exact location was a mystery.

The skeletons were found in Charterhouse Square Square, along with ceramic mid-fourteenth century, during excavations as part of the Crossrail project, the new line of high-speed subway linking the districts of East and West London.

DNA tests to be conducted on human remains could provide valuable information about the development of the bacteria that caused the Black Death call or Black Death, the most devastating plague in human history that affected Europe in the nineteenth XIV and peaked between 1347 and 1353.

During the excavation works teams have discovered skeletons near London's Liverpool Street (north of town), remains of the Bronze Age and the largest piece of amber found in the UK.

"We have found archaeological remains practically all periods, from prehistory to the twentieth century, but this location is probably the most important medieval site of those found," said Jay Carver, the rail project archaeologist.

The bodies were distributed in two rows, before the black plague became epidemic causing mass graves. Archaeologists working on the Crossrail project and others from the Museum of London will continue digging to discover more remains or other findings.

The Crossrail project is presented as the most ambitious in Europe and also includes the construction of two large tunnels 30 meters below the surface. If all goes as planned, the project of uniting over 118 km the towns of Maidenhead, west of London, in the county of Berkshire, with Shenfield (Essex), to the east, will be completed in 2017 . The Crossrail will operate up to 24 trains at peak times, each traveling at speeds up to 160 km / h.