Ancient Plague Unveiled in Jordanian Mass Grave
Archaeological breakthrough in Jerash, Jordan has shed new light on the world's earliest recorded pandemic, which ravaged the Byzantine empire between 541 and 750 AD. A US-led research team has verified a Mediterranean mass grave containing DNA evidence of the plague that killed millions.
Researchers from the University of South Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and the University of Sydney uncovered over 200 individuals buried at the Hippodrome in Jerash, a regional trade hub. The findings, published in February's Journal of Archaeological Science, provide a rare empirical window into the mobility, urban life, and vulnerability of citizens affected by the pestilence.
"We're not just looking at a biological event; we're seeing how disease affected real people within their social and environmental context," said lead author Rays Jiang. The mass grave represented "a single mortuary event" rather than the gradual growth over time of a traditional cemetery.
The victims were from diverse demographics, indicating that a largely mobile population was brought together by crisis, similar to how travel shut down during the Covid pandemic. People normally moved freely but were stuck in Jerash due to the disease.
"This helps us understand pandemics in history as lived human health events, not just outbreaks recorded in text," Jiang added. The research exposed parallels with modern pandemics, particularly Covid, which was initially dismissed by some as a hoax.
The discovery of Yersinia pestis, the microbe that caused the plague, and a mass grave with bodies provided hard evidence of the pandemic's occurrence. However, whether society or institutions collapsed is a separate matter, Jiang noted.
Archaeological breakthrough in Jerash, Jordan has shed new light on the world's earliest recorded pandemic, which ravaged the Byzantine empire between 541 and 750 AD. A US-led research team has verified a Mediterranean mass grave containing DNA evidence of the plague that killed millions.
Researchers from the University of South Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and the University of Sydney uncovered over 200 individuals buried at the Hippodrome in Jerash, a regional trade hub. The findings, published in February's Journal of Archaeological Science, provide a rare empirical window into the mobility, urban life, and vulnerability of citizens affected by the pestilence.
"We're not just looking at a biological event; we're seeing how disease affected real people within their social and environmental context," said lead author Rays Jiang. The mass grave represented "a single mortuary event" rather than the gradual growth over time of a traditional cemetery.
The victims were from diverse demographics, indicating that a largely mobile population was brought together by crisis, similar to how travel shut down during the Covid pandemic. People normally moved freely but were stuck in Jerash due to the disease.
"This helps us understand pandemics in history as lived human health events, not just outbreaks recorded in text," Jiang added. The research exposed parallels with modern pandemics, particularly Covid, which was initially dismissed by some as a hoax.
The discovery of Yersinia pestis, the microbe that caused the plague, and a mass grave with bodies provided hard evidence of the pandemic's occurrence. However, whether society or institutions collapsed is a separate matter, Jiang noted.
. I mean, you read about it in history books but to see actual DNA evidence is like, whoa 
. It's pretty cool how the researchers were able to study the mass grave and figure out all the details about what was going on at the time. And the fact that people from different demographics were affected by the plague is wild 
. I guess it's not so different from now when we have pandemics and travel gets restricted too 
.
I can only imagine how heartbreaking it must be to think about all those people who died alone in Jerash, not knowing what was happening to them or why they were stuck there during that terrible time. It's like, we know the plague had a huge impact on society, but to see actual names and faces... it's just so tragic 
.
. It makes me appreciate the fact that, despite all the differences, we're still dealing with similar human struggles.
. It's like, we can learn so much from the past, and try to do things differently next time around 
.
. the fact that there were people from different backgrounds stuck together in one place due to a pandemic is actually kinda cool 
, especially covid which had some ppl doubting it was real 
. anyway, im just glad we have people like rays jiang working hard to uncover the truth about our past 
.
this mass grave is literally like a time capsule revealing the darkest secrets of human history and all the parallels with covid are mind blowing its crazy how scientists are trying to connect dots between ancient pandemics and modern ones
It's crazy to think that people back then were just trying to survive like we are today during pandemics... the parallels between history and modern times are wild 
This is gonna sound weird but I kinda knew this was happening... like, didn't we already know about pandemics in ancient times? And now they're saying it was more than just one or two outbreaks? Sounds like the whole Byzantine empire was a hot mess during that time. I mean, it's cool that researchers finally found proof, but what's the point of finding out stuff we already knew existed? We didn't exactly learn anything new here... 
The parallels between ancient pandemics and modern ones are mind-blowing 
It's wild that they found 200 bodies in one mass grave! That's like finding a time capsule or something. Anyway, this discovery is gonna change the way we think about pandemics for sure. Maybe it'll even help us prepare better next time? Fingers crossed! 
it's crazy to think about how many people were affected and died back then. the researchers are saying it helps us understand pandemics better now because we can see how they affected regular people, not just in written records.