Medieval plague victims were buried individually with 'considerable care' - Daily Mail
Medieval plague victims were buried individually with 'considerable care', new analysis of their teeth has revealed. Archaeologists have long thought this was the case but could not prove it because plague kills so rapidly that no visible traces are left on the skeleton, meaning victims could only be identified if buried in mass graves. But for the first time Cambridge researchers have now found Yersinia pestis, the pathogen that causes plague, in DNA from the teeth of people who died between the 14th and 16th centuries. Scroll down for video Discovery: Medieval plague victims were buried individually with 'considerable care', new analysis of their teeth has found. Pictured are the skeletons of victims in a friary in Cambridge WHAT IS PLAGUE? Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague and is spread by the bite from an infected flea. The infection spreads to immune glands called lymph nodes, causing them to become swollen and pain...