Emily Chan
For example, in Brechin, about 600 people, which was half the town’s population, died within a few months of 1647.
The researchers wanted to look into how people responded to the plague and whether there was a general fear of victims of the plague during this last epidemic.
They analyzed the bones and teeth of skeletons recovered from plague pits, confirming that the individuals died between 1647 and 1648. The Yersinia pestis organism was present as well.
Then, they investigated the burial practices related to the pits to determine how the plague victims were treated. What they found was surprisingly positive.
“The plague is generally associated with the digging of plague pits to dispose of the dead, but what the team found was numerous instances of normal burial and memorialization of plague victims within church grounds,” said Dr. Rebecca Crozier, the director of the osteoarchaeology program at the university.
“Clearly, some of these individuals must have been known to be victims of the plague by their mourners whom, it would appear, may have been less afraid of contracting the plague from their dead as we might assume.”
The researchers believe that the findings show signs of care and compassion for the dead, even though having humanity put them at great risk of contracting the disease themselves.
The study was published in the journal PLOS One.
