During the construction of the shopping center in 2004, the remains of 17 people were found. Among the victims were at least 11 children. Three of the victims were sisters: one between the ages of 5 and 10, the second between the ages of 10 and 15, and the third a young adult. For some time the bones were stored in the Norfolk Museum and Archaeological Service.

Genetics reveal truth

The first radiocarbon dating showed the bones to be from the 11th or 12th century. At first, scientists believed that the remains belonged to victims of an epidemic of epidemic disease or mass starvation, and therefore the bodies were quickly “disposed” without complete burial. However, new historical evidence has given rise to growing suspicion that the dead were actually Jews killed for religious reasons.

A recent genetic analysis of the remains revealed that all those who died were Ashkenazi Jews – Descendants of one of the most numerous sub-ethnic Jewish groups that formed communities in northern Europe in the early Middle Ages, particularly in the territory of present-day Germany and France.

Scientists explain that there is no single “genetic test” to determine whether a person is Jewish. However, analysis of the genomes of six individuals (in other cases unfortunately no longer possible) shows shared genetic ancestry and the same genetic disorders. The fact is that modern Ashkenazis have a higher-than-normal incidence of certain genetic disorders, such as Tay-Sachs disease and some hereditary cancers. A study of people from a well in Norwich showed that such ailments occur with the same frequency. Their presence indicates the so-called “genetic bottleneck” of possible variants and clearly indicates that the remains are Ashkenazi.

Who killed them and why

Another analysis shows when and why they were killed.

According to historical research, good people are good people, says Mark Thomas, Professor of Human Evolutionary Genetics at University College London. He was killed during the anti-Semitic massacre in the city by the Crusaders in 1190. This event was told by a churchman named Ralph de Diceto, who was a historian of the time.

Anti-Semitic massacres were quite common in England and other parts of Europe during the medieval period.

Most of those who rushed to Jerusalem decided to revolt against the Jews before the Saracens invaded. Accordingly, on February 6, all Jews in their home in Norwich were killed. Some took refuge in the castle,
– Wrote Diceto in his “Imagines Historiarum”, published around 1200.

Medieval Norwich had been home to a thriving Jewish community since 1137. According to the source, William the Conqueror invited them to settle in England in order to receive their taxes in coins instead of agricultural products. During the First Crusade, Christian troops captured Jerusalem in 1099 after defeating the city’s Muslim rulers. Several more crusades were launched from Europe to the Holy Land in the following years, with the last one ending in the 1290s.