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Medieval Graves Found Under the Uffizi

News February 20, 2014

(MAURIZIO DEGL'INNOCENTI/EPA /LANDOV)
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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.

 

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