JOIN TODAY
JOIN TODAY

Medieval Graves Found Under the Uffizi

News February 20, 2014

(MAURIZIO DEGL'INNOCENTI/EPA /LANDOV)
SHARE:

medieval graves uffizi
(MAURIZIO DEGL'INNOCENTI/EPA /LANDOV)
FLORENCE, ITALY—During a construction project to expand Florence’s famed Uffizi Museum, the Telegraph reports that workers have uncovered sixty skeletons dating to the fifth or sixth century A.D. under one of the museum’s libraries. The bones are now being examined to determine the cause of death, which researchers believe may have been plague or infectious disease. The deceased appear to have been buried somewhat carelessly and hastily, perhaps to halt the spread of disease, and do not show signs of traumatic injury. Although Florentia was a wealthy provincial capital during the Roman Empire, little is known about the city’s early medieval period.

 

Recommended Articles

Off the Grid January/February 2025

Tzintzuntzan, Mexico

Read Article
Enrique/AdobeStock

Digs & Discoveries January/February 2025

Bad Moon Rising

Read Article
Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Digs & Discoveries January/February 2025

100-Foot Enigma

Read Article
George E. Koronaios/Wikimedia Commons

Digs & Discoveries January/February 2025

Colonial Companions

Read Article
NadiaPera/AdobeStock

More to Discover

Features January/February 2014

Top 10 Discoveries of 2013

ARCHAEOLOGY's editors reveal the year's most compelling stories

Read Article

  • Features January/February 2014

    Stone Towns of the Swahili Coast

    Along 2,000 miles of the East African coast, the sophisticated trading centers of the medieval Swahili reveal their origins and influences

    Read Article
    (Samir S. Patel)

  • Letter from England January/February 2014

    The Scientist's Garden

    Excavations in an English garden reveal the evolution of the nation's culture across thousands of years

    Read Article
    (Adam Stanford, Aerial-Cam)

  • Artifacts January/February 2014

    Limestone Eagle

    Read Article
    (Matthew Helmer)

  • Digs & Discoveries January/February 2014

    French Revolution Forgeries?

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Davide Pettener/Paolo Garagnani)