Excavations at the Liverpool Street Crossrail site in the City of London have revealed 30 skeletons thought to have been victims of the Great Plague of London, 1665-66.
The mass burial was discovered during excavations of the Bedlam burial ground required to create the eastern entrance of the new station.
In early March, a team of 60 archaeologists began excavating 3,500 skeletons from the Bedlam burial ground, where more than 30,000 Londoners were believed to have been buried between 1569 and 1738.
A team of 60 archaeologists has been working in shifts, six days a week to remove skeletons and carefully record evidence from the archaeologically priceless 16th and 17th-century cemetery site.
The latest discoveries at the site are believed to be victims of the plague as a headstone found nearby is marked “1665” and the individuals appear to have been buried on the same day.
The skeletons will now be analysed by osteologists, or bone specialists, from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), and scientific tests may confirm if bubonic plague was the cause of death.
Jay Carver, Crossrail lead archaeologist at MOLA, said: “The construction of Crossrail gives us a rare opportunity to study previously inaccessible areas of London and learn about the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners.
“This mass burial, so different to the other individual burials found in the Bedlam cemetery, is very likely a reaction to a catastrophic event. Only closer analysis will tell if this is a plague pit from The Great Plague in 1665 but we hope this gruesome but exciting find will tell us more about the one of London’s most notorious killers.”
Mike Henderson, senior osteologist at MOLA, added: “The concentration of burials in this pit provides a new focus for scientific testing and study. We hope detailed osteological analysis will help determine whether these people were exposed to The Great Plague and potentially learn more about the evolution of this deadly disease."
The news comes as the final tunnelling machine, Victoria, is dismantled 40 metres below Farringdon in central London following the completion of Crossrail tunnelling.
Over the last three years, eight 1,000 tonne tunnelling machines have bored 42km, or 26 miles, of new 6.2-diameter rail tunnels under London.
Roger Mears, Crossrail eastern tunnels project manager, said: “Crossrail’s last tunnelling machine, Victoria, has finished her journey and is being dismantled and recycled. Thanks to the quality of these marvellous machines and skill of the teams who operated them, Crossrail’s tunnels are now complete, ready for the complex task of fitting out the railway.”
