Plague victim skeletons found beneath London subway

Don Walker, a human osteologist with the Museum of London, poses with one of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square, March 26, 2014.

The 25 skeletons were uncovered last year during work on Crossrail, a new rail line that's boring 13 miles of tunnels under the heart of the city.

Archaeologists immediately suspected the bones came from a cemetery for victims of the bubonic plague that ravaged Europe in the 14th century.

The Black Death, as the plague was called, is thought to have killed at least 75 million people, including more than half of Britain's population.

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One of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square.

Molars taken from the skeletons are revealing secrets of the medieval Black Death - and of its victims.

This week, Don Walker outlined the biography of one man whose ancient bones were found by construction workers: He was breast-fed as a baby, moved to London from another part of England, had bad tooth decay in childhood, grew up to work as a laborer, and died in early adulthood from the bubonic plague that ravaged Europe in the 14th century.

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The 25 skeletons were uncovered last year during work on Crossrail, a new rail line that's boring 13 miles of tunnels under the heart of the city.

To test their theory that the bones came from a cemetery for plague victims, scientists took one tooth from each of 12 skeletons, then extracted DNA from the teeth.

They announced Sunday that tests had found the presence of the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, in several of the teeth, meaning the individuals had been exposed to - and likely died from - the Black Death.

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Radiocarbon dating and analysis of pottery shards helped determine when the burials took place. Forensic geophysics - more commonly used in murder and war-crimes investigations - helped locate more graves under the square. Studying oxygen and strontium isotopes in the bones revealed details of diet and health.

These were, by and large, poor people. Many of the skeletons showed signs of malnutrition consistent with the "Great Famine" that struck Europe 30 years before the Black Death. Many had back injuries suggesting lives of hard labor. One man became a vegetarian late in life, indicating he may have entered an order of monks.

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Don Walker, a human osteologist with the Museum of London, poses for the photographers, with one of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square.

Archaeologists are planning a new dig this summer to learn how many bodies lie under the square. Carver says the number appears to be in the "low thousands."

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A member of the media photographs the skull of one of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square.

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Some of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square are pictured.

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Don Walker, a human osteologist with the Museum of London, holds the kcull of one of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square.

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One of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square is pictured.

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Don Walker, a human osteologist with the Museum of London, poses with one of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square.

London

Some of the skeletons found by construction workers under central London's Charterhouse Square.