As of: February 24, 2024, 5:28 p.m
By: Felix Herz
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It is probably the largest plague cemetery in Germany, which was recently found in Nuremberg.
Does it also pose dangers?
Nuremberg – In mid-February, numerous skeletons were found during construction work on a retirement home.
It quickly became clear that this was a plague cemetery.
It is now clear: more than 700 plague deaths from the 17th century were found at the site of today's construction site - making it one of the largest plague cemeteries in Germany.
The BR now investigated the question of whether the plague pathogens were still contagious.
The dangerous virus from the ice – does the plague cemetery in Nuremberg also harbor dangers?
The virus from the ice: Every now and then you hear horror stories that pathogens could become active again due to permafrost thawing as a result of climate change - in February of last year, a team of researchers succeeded in reviving viruses from the ice.
Now plague deaths have been unearthed in Nuremberg and are to be examined - the question that the BR is now investigating has a right to exist.
City archaeologist Melanie Langbein describes the site as the largest plague cemetery in Germany and possibly even Europe.
According to the expert, the high scientific value of the excavation could provide important insights into the development of the plague.
© Daniel Löb/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++
But there is no reason to worry.
According to Nuremberg's city archaeologist Melanie Langbein, who provided information to the BR, there are no active plague pathogens on the centuries-old skeletons.
(By the way: Our Nuremberg newsletter regularly informs you about all important stories from Middle Franconia and the Franconian metropolis. Register here.)
Plague bacteria are generally highly contagious - but not after several centuries
Basically, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) writes, the bacterium called Yersinia pestis, which causes the plague, is also highly contagious on corpses.
“Handling people who have died from the plague should therefore be kept to a minimum,” it says.
But: The bacterium's ability to survive is limited to a few months at most - not a few centuries.
The excavation and examination of the plague dead in Nuremberg therefore poses no risk of infection.
In addition, the plague would not be nearly as dangerous in Germany today as it was in the 17th century - because it could be combated with antibiotics.
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In total, the waves of plague that swept across Europe resulted in more than a million deaths.
The origin of the plague cemetery discovered in Nuremberg probably lies in the devastating wave of plague between 1632 and 1634, which, according to
stuttgarter-zeitung.de
, resulted in between 15,000 and 25,000 deaths in Nuremberg.
Most of them were buried in mass graves.
Several of these have now been uncovered and are to be examined - scientists hope that this will provide insights into the development of the plague.
(fhz)
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