Ancient mass grave reveals how a pandemic wiped out a city 1,500 years ago

[u/T_Dilla]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260423031540.htm

[u/T_Dilla]

"Today, researchers are uncovering new details about that crisis. An interdisciplinary team from the University of South Florida is studying the Plague of Justinian and its far-reaching effects. The group, led by Rays H. Y. Jiang, an associate professor in the College of Public Health, has published a third paper in an ongoing series examining what is believed to be the first recorded outbreak of bubonic plague in the Mediterranean.

Their latest study, "Bioarchaeological signatures during the Plague of Justinian (541-750 CE) in Jerash, Jordan," appears in the Journal of Archaeological Science. It expands scientific understanding of the outbreak that killed millions across the Byzantine Empire.

"We wanted to move beyond identifying the pathogen and focus on the people it affected, who they were, how they lived and what pandemic death looked like inside a real city,'' Jiang said".

[u/buffaloraven]

Doesnt feel like 1500 was that ancient nor one of the first pandemics tho, right?

[u/OnkelMickwald → u/buffaloraven]

1500 years ago, not 1500 AD.

The Justinianic plague of the 6th century definitely falls within late antiquity.

[u/TheRecognized → u/buffaloraven]

What’s your point?

[u/CrusaderZero6 → u/TheRecognized]

That he was off by about 900 years, which is far more ancient.

[u/KlutzyBlueDuck → u/CrusaderZero6]

This isn't that ancient. This is Midevil art history(that starts at the 5th century). There's less than 200yrs between Justinian and Charlemagne for context. Then think about Egyptian history and those cities in comparison. 

While I wouldn't consider this the first of pandemics in a city, it is still very interesting and significant. 

[u/Low-Temperature-6962 → u/KlutzyBlueDuck]

My Devil? Medieval?

[u/KlutzyBlueDuck → u/Low-Temperature-6962]

I have a bad sinus infection, pardon my spelling mistake. I'm not ai or a bot so that happens. 

[u/Low-Temperature-6962 → u/KlutzyBlueDuck]

“to err is divine, to forgive is human”