Medieval Jewish Cemetery Excavated in Italy

BOLOGNA, ITALY—According to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency report, more than 400 graves at the site of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been uncovered as part of a construction project near Bologna’s Via Orfeo. In 1569, after Pope Pius V banished Jews from most papal territories, he reportedly turned the cemetery’s land over to the nuns of a nearby cloister and told them to destroy the graves. Archaeologists recovered the remains of adults and children, and artifacts made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and amber. No tombstones were found, and 150 of the graves showed signs of intentional desecration. To read about another recent discovery in Italy, go to “Itinerant Etruscan Beekeepers.”