scholarly journals Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1354
Author(s):  
Donato Antonio Raele ◽  
Ginevra Panzarino ◽  
Giuseppe Sarcinelli ◽  
Maria Assunta Cafiero ◽  
Anna Maria Tunzi ◽  
...  

The Abbey of San Leonardo in Siponto (Apulia, Southern Italy) was an important religious and medical center during the Middle Ages. It was a crossroads for pilgrims heading along the Via Francigena to the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo and for merchants passing through the harbor of Manfredonia. A recent excavation of Soprintendenza Archeologica della Puglia investigated a portion of the related cemetery, confirming its chronology to be between the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century. Two single graves preserved individuals accompanied by numerous coins dating back to the 14th century, hidden in clothes and in a bag tied to the waist. The human remains of the individuals were analyzed in the Laboratorio di Antropologia Fisica of Soprintendenza ABAP della città metropolitana di Bari. Three teeth from each individual were collected and sent to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Puglia e Basilicata to study infectious diseases such as malaria, plague, tuberculosis, epidemic typhus and Maltese fever (Brucellosis), potentially related to the lack of inspection of the bodies during burial procedures. DNA extracted from six collected teeth and two additional unrelated human teeth (negative controls) were analyzed using PCR to verify the presence of human DNA (β-globulin) and of pathogens such as Plasmodium spp., Yersinia pestis, Mycobacterium spp., Rickettsia spp. and Brucella spp. The nucleotide sequence of the amplicon was determined to confirm the results. Human DNA was successfully amplified from all eight dental extracts and two different genes of Y. pestis were amplified and sequenced in 4 out of the 6 teeth. Molecular analyses ascertained that the individuals buried in San Leonardo were victims of the Black Death (1347–1353) and the data confirmed the lack of inspection of the corpses despite the presence of numerous coins. This study represents molecular evidence, for the first time, of Southern Italy’s involvement in the second wave of the plague pandemic.

2012 ◽  
Vol 150 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.J. Kendall ◽  
J. Montgomery ◽  
J.A. Evans ◽  
C. Stantis ◽  
V. Mueller

1968 ◽  
Vol 114 (513) ◽  
pp. 1031-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Griffith Edwards ◽  
Valerie Williamson ◽  
Ann Hawker ◽  
Celia Hensman ◽  
Seta Postoyan

In the second half of the fourteenth century, the whole problem of poverty became in England for the first time a matter of government concern. The contractual relationship between landlord and villein which had prevailed during the Middle Ages, was breaking down, and the Black Death hastened this process. Statutes dealing with vagrancy and poverty were promulgated in 1349, 1351 and 1388: the able-bodied beggar was punished in the stocks and generally repression was the keynote, but despite harsh laws vagrancy increased. In a series of statutes from 1531–1601 the Tudor sovereigns initiated a system of local relief based on the Parish unit. In 1576, Houses of Correction were established:“to the intent youth may be accustomed and brought up in labour and work, and then not likely to grow to be able rogues, and to the intent that such as be already grown up in idleness and so rogues at this present, may not have any just excuse in saying that they cannot get any service of work”.(De Schweinitz, 1943).


Author(s):  
E. Yu. Goncharov ◽  
◽  
S. E. Malykh ◽  

The article focuses on the attribution of one gold and two copper coins discovered by the Russian Archaeological Mission of the Institute of Oriental Studies RAS in the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Giza. Coins come from mixed fillings of the burial shafts of the Ancient Egyptian rock-cut tombs of the second half of the 3rd millennium B.C. According to the archaeological context, the coins belong to the stages of the destruction of ancient burials that took place during the Middle Ages and Modern times. One of the coins is a Mamluk fals dating back to the first half of the 14th century A.D., the other two belong to the 1830s — the Ottoman period in Egypt, and are attributed as gold a buchuk hayriye and its copper imitation. Coins are rare for the ancient necropolis and are mainly limited to specimens of the 19th–20th centuries. In general, taking into account the numerous finds of other objects — fragments of ceramic, porcelain and glass utensils, metal ware, glass and copper decorations, we can talk about the dynamic nature of human activity in the ancient Egyptian cemetery in the 2nd millennium A.D. Egyptians and European travelers used the ancient rock-cut tombs as permanent habitats or temporary sites, leaving material traces of their stay.


Author(s):  
Naja Mikkelsen ◽  
Antoon Kuijpers ◽  
Susanne Lassen ◽  
Jesper Vedel

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Mikkelsen, N., Kuijpers, A., Lassen, S., & Vedel, J. (2001). Marine and terrestrial investigations in the Norse Eastern Settlement, South Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 189, 65-69. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v189.5159 _______________ During the Middle Ages the Norse settlements in Greenland were the most northerly outpost of European Christianity and civilisation in the Northern Hemisphere. The climate was relatively stable and mild around A.D. 985 when Eric the Red founded the Eastern Settlement in the fjords of South Greenland. The Norse lived in Greenland for almost 500 years, but disappeared in the 14th century. Letters in Iceland report on a Norse marriage in A.D. 1408 in Hvalsey church of the Eastern Settlement, but after this account all written sources remain silent. Although there have been numerous studies and much speculation, the fate of the Norse settlements in Greenland remains an essentially unsolved question.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Bonhomme ◽  
Jean-Frédéric Terral ◽  
Véronique Zech-Matterne ◽  
Sarah Ivorra ◽  
Thierry Lacombe ◽  
...  

AbstractA crucial aspect of viticulture is finally unveiled as the historical dynamics of its agrobiodiversity are described in the Champagne region for the first time. Outline analyses were carried out to compare the morphology of archaeological grape seeds from Troyes and Reims (first c. AD to fifteenth c. AD) with that of a reference collection of modern seeds, including wild vines and traditional grape varieties, believed to be ancient and characteristic of the French vine heritage. This allows us to document the chronological dynamics of the use of the wild Vitis type and of the diversity of the varieties used, based on morphological disparity. After showing the existence of morphological types corresponding to geographical groups, we highlight a geochronological dynamic. Our results show that the wild type is used throughout the series, up to the Middle Ages. In addition, domestic forms, morphologically related to southern varietal groups, are very early involved in the Champagne grape agrodiversity. The groups corresponding to the typical grape varieties of today do not appear until the second millennium. These previously unsuspected dynamics are discussed in light of the social, societal and climatic changes documented for the period.


2018 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Young

St Edmund, king and martyr (an Anglo-Saxon king martyred by the Vikings in 869) was one of the most venerated English saints in Ireland from the 12th century. In Dublin, St Edmund had his own chapel in Christ Church Cathedral and a guild, while Athassel Priory in County Tipperary claimed to possess a miraculous image of the saint. In the late 14th century the coat of arms ascribed to St Edmund became the emblem of the king of England’s lordship of Ireland, and the name Edmund (or its Irish equivalent Éamon) was widespread in the country by the end of the Middle Ages. This article argues that the cult of St Edmund, the traditional patron saint of the English people, served to reassure the English of Ireland of their Englishness, and challenges the idea that St Edmund was introduced to Ireland as a heavenly patron of the Anglo-Norman conquest.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn A. Wijnhoven

Mail armour (commonly mislabelled 'chainmail') was used for more than two millennia on the battlefield. After its invention in the Iron Age, mail rapidly spread all over Europe and beyond. The Roman army, keen on new military technology, soon adopted mail armour and used it successfully for centuries. Its history did not stop there and mail played a vital role in warfare during the Middle Ages up to the Early Modern Period. Given its long history, one would think mail is a well-documented material, but that is not the case. For the first time, this books lays a solid foundation for the understanding of mail armour and its context through time. It applies a long-term multi-dimensional approach to extract a wealth of as yet untapped information from archaeological, iconographic and written sources. This is complemented with technical insights on the mail maker’s chaîne opératoire.


Author(s):  
Taras Mylian

Territory of the upper reaches of Western Bug River, especially the annalistic of Belz in Solokiya and its surroundings, is rich in archeological sites. In 2016, as part of the Program «Protection and Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of the Lviv Region for 2016–2018», conservation research was conducted at the settlement Belz 22 (Hora). It is a multi-layered settlement with cultural and chronological horizons from the final Paleolithic to modern times. Information and research on it were conducted with advantages during XX century however, for the first time in the settlement; remains of a Slavic dwelling-semi-dugout (object 20) of the Prague culture were discovered and studied. Research has shown that dwelling had two periods of functioning. Traces of restructuring were confirmed, which led to a reduction of the area and changing of the shape – from rectangular to square. Evidence of the reconstruction was the remains of two clay ovens, the oldest of which was partially cut down by a later wall. Under the remains of this wall above the furnace a Roman denarius of the II century was found. Ovens are built on special sites made of compacted clay. The older oven has a dome lined with special rollers. Discovered material is represented mainly by handmade ceramic pots, some of them are reconstructed. Some of the forms of utensils were common during the late V – early VI centuries, and the other part – during the second half of VI – early VII century. This division corresponded to the periods of housing. An important find was the weights for the loom, which were reused to build the oven. An additional evidence of the development of weaving in the settlement is a bi-conical spinner with flat platforms, which comes from dwelling. The settlement on the outskirts of the annalistic Belz is characterized by permanence and genetic connection throughout the Middle Ages – from individual Slavic settlements in this region to the creation of a separate principality around the big city. Key words: Prague culture, Belz, Solokiya, dwelling, oven, ceramics, denarius.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-07
Author(s):  
Brenda Bertado Cortes ◽  
Brian Madariaga Cortes ◽  
Massiel Zenteno Zenteno ◽  
Bayron Alexander Sandoval Bonilla

Chronyc lymphosytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhacement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS), described for the first time in 2010 by Pittock and collaborators, is a rare inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (SNC) characterized by the presence of punctuate or curvilinear lesions described like “salt and pepper” appearance on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), that enhance with Gadoliniumn administration; this lesions show an exquisite response to corticosteroid therapy. The etiology of this disease remains unknown. However, the existing articles suggest an autoimmune component, which may or may not be related to other autoinmmune, infectious or malignant pathologies. Due to the above, it is generally considered that in order to reach the diagnosis of CLIPPERS, the possibility of other more common or aggressive pathologies must first be ruled out through extensive investigation. However, if the clinical and imaging presentation are typical and there is a very high suspicion of CLIPPERS, early initiation of glucosteroid therapy may be recommended. There is no unanimous therapy plan due to the few cases reported worldwide thus far. In cases of severe relapses or atypical behavior, both clinical and radiological, it is recommended to consider a stereotactic biopsy of the lesion to integrate the definitive diagnosis. Because it is a rare disease, it is relatively unknown to first- contact medical personnel; in our particular case, this leads to referral to the neurosurgery department who, thanks to their experience, have considered a demilinizing disease as a diagnostic possibility and requested an assessment by the neurology department. Here, we report the evolution and management of three diagnosed cases of CLIPPERS at a single Third-level Medical Center in México; based on clinical, radiological and neuropathological findings; as well as highlighting the importance of lesion biopsy in selected cases.


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