Detail

Exact dating has not yet been established, but preliminary estimates suggest that: Eight plague pits were created in the first half of the seventeenth century. Some of the bones have a green hue because the area was once used to dispose of waste from a nearby copper factory.

We will preserve and preserve all human remains found on the territory of future construction,
– they say archaeologists are excavating.

They estimate that when work is completed in the spring, it will be the largest cemetery of plague victims ever excavated in Europe.

Mass burial of those who died from the plague / Photo: In Terra Veritas

Bubonic plague is associated with many of the most devastating pandemics in history; the most important of these are the Black Death in the 14th century and the Plague of Justinian, which began in the 6th century. However, this highly contagious infection has frequently occurred in small epidemics over the centuries. Local epidemics recurred and devastated cities for nearly 400 years after the Black Death in Europe. Nuremberg was no exception. There is even a famous St. Petersburg cemetery in the city. Rochus is dedicated to the plague.

But what archaeologists from In Terra Veritas found while conducting what they thought was a routine survey before construction began was not just a cemetery. The countless bones were a harbinger of something much more devastating.

Excavation process / Photo: In Terra Veritas

Although there were special plague cemeteries in Nuremberg, these people were not buried in a regular cemetery. This means that many dead had to be buried in a short time without following Christian burial rites.
says Melanie Langbein from the Nuremberg Heritage Office.

The plague leaves no visible traces on the bones of its victims, so additional studies are needed to confirm the diagnosis. DNA analysis of the bones is expected to confirm traces of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis. But several dating lines point to plague as the most likely explanation.

Mass funeral of those who died of plague / Photo: In Terra Veritas

Radiocarbon analysis of the remains in one of the graves shows that they date from the period between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 17th century. Later, coins and ceramic pieces marking the beginning of the 20th century were also found here.

Archaeologists also found a note dated 1634 describing the plague epidemic that killed nearly 15,000 people in Nuremberg in 1632 and 1633. According to the note, approximately 2,000 of his victims were buried in the current excavation site..

But the implications of this discovery go far beyond the manner in which these men died. It is of great importance far beyond the borders of the region. The graves contain the remains of children and the elderly, men and women. Now, for the first time, an empirically reliable analysis of a large population group from this period can be made for an important city like Nuremberg.