Dovetailing Discoveries!

Greetings, Fellow Wayfarers!

There have been some fantastic developments in Archaeology this week!

Thousands of Bodies from Bedlam

While digging for a new rail line, archaeologists in England uncovered a large gravesite with around 3,000 bodies, all interred during the 16th and 17th centuries AD, putting them directly in the swath of the bubonic plague.  The worst of its kind to ever be seen, the bubonic plague (more commonly referred to as The Black Death, owing to the color of the pustules it left on human bodies in its wake) ultimately killed 1/3 of the population of Europe at that time.

This latest discovery coincidentally comes on the heels of a recent joint study done by Cornell University and Columbia University that found that it may not have been the rats that spread the bubonic plague, as was common belief, but in fact the fleas on rats who are responsible.  Fleas on Rats are to Blame.  These same fleas have also been found to carry typhus and Barontella germs, as well as a host of other fun little friends.  These fleas can be linked back to the Oriental fleas which were responsible for bringing the bubonic plague to Europe from Asia, using the Silk Road trading routes as a pipeline.

Bedlam Cemetary opened in 1569 to take in the overflow from the city's other cemetaries.  So far this dig has been Christmas for archaeologists: included among the bones are bison and mammoth bones, Roman horseshoes, medieval ice skates as well as the remains of a Tudor manor house.  This cemetary is also the origin of the word 'bedlam' referring to insanity or chaos.

About 60 archaeologists, working 16-hour days in shifts, spent a month excavating the bones to a laboratory.  After analysis the bones will be reburied on Canvey Island in the Thames Estuary.  The Crosslink railway station to be built on the site is scheduled to open in 2018.

As an archaeologist, you tend to form a connection with the land and the artifacts that you are spending so much time in such close proximity with.  When excavating in Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall in 2013, one of my finds included a finely wrought gold bracelet.  I started immediately wondering about the woman who had worn it.  Was it a gift from her husband?  An engagement present that was returned?  The part of the fort we were excavating included the barracks of the Roman soldiers stationed there.   Why would someone leave something so valuable behind?

Bones have an even more powerful pull on you.  As these archaeologists start cleaning and running tests, they won't just be tracing a historical plague bacteria.  They will be witness to the lives that these people lived.  Our bones serve as a catalog of everything that has ever happened to us - what we ate, where we traveled, what we did for work, etc.  Examining bones like these almost feels like the corpse is trusting you to write an accurate account of what their life was like.  All this and as scientists, archaeologists still need to be able to add verifiable data from our discoveries.  Whew!

The Smithsonian Institution has produced two excellent exhibitions in the last few years on modern archaeology and what we can learn from bone analysis.  I can tell you from personal experience that both exhibits are tremendous.  They cover the depth and scope of the materials while simultaneously presenting it at a relatable level to the general public.  I would encourage everyone to read and/or make sure you see both.  The Hall of Human Origins is a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History.

Hall of Human Origins Traveling Exhibition

Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake
Written in Bone