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| ==Controversy== | ==Controversy== | ||
| Some scientists have put forward the idea that the Black Death was not caused by ] as some have thought, and some evidence of this has been found in plague pits, where other diseases, such as ], have been discovered. | Some scientists have put forward the idea that the Black Death was not caused by ] as some have thought, and some evidence of this has been found in plague pits, where other diseases, such as ], have been discovered. | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 18:16, 14 October 2011
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A plague pit is the informal term used to refer to mass graves in which victims of the Black Death were buried. The term is most often used to describe pits located in Great Britain, but can be applied to any place where Bubonic plague victims were buried.
Origin
The plague which swept across Europe in the 14th century is estimated to have killed between one-third and two-thirds of Europe's population. Disposal of the bodies of those who died presented huge problems for the authorities, and eventually the normal patterns of burial and funerary observance broke down, usually during the most severe epidemics.
Controversy
Some scientists have put forward the idea that the Black Death was not caused by Yersina pestis as some have thought, and some evidence of this has been found in plague pits, where other diseases, such as anthrax, have been discovered.
References
- Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, "The Greatest Epidemic of History" ("La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire", in L'Histoire n° 310, June 2006, pp.45-46, say "between one-third and two-thirds"; Robert Gottfried (1983). "Black Death" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume 2, pp.257-67, says "between 25 and 45 percent".
- Population Loss
- Plague and Public Health in Renaissance Europe
External links
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