Ancient Plague Victims Found in Jordan
A new study reveals details about victims of the first historically recorded pandemic in the walled city of Jirash, Jordan during the 7th century. The research sheds light on ancient disease dynamics and how pandemics impacted historic cities. The findings provide crucial insights into how ancient civilizations dealt with widespread illness.
The plague that swept through Jerash has been identified as the Justinianic Plague, which ravaged the Byzantine Empire and beyond from 541 to around 750 AD. This pandemic is estimated to have caused the deaths of 15 to 100 million people, equivalent to 25 to 60% of Europe's population at the time. Genetic analysis of remains found in a mass grave in Jerash confirmed the presence of the bacterium *Yersinia pestis*, the same pathogen responsible for the later Black Death. DNA was extracted from the teeth of eight individuals, and the analysis revealed the victims carried nearly identical strains, indicating a rapid and deadly outbreak. This discovery provides the first direct genomic evidence linking *Yersinia pestis* to the Justinianic Plague in the Eastern Mediterranean. The mass grave itself, located under the city's former Roman hippodrome, tells a story of a city overwhelmed. Hundreds of bodies were buried rapidly over just a few days in what was an abandoned civic space, laid on top of pottery shards without ceremony or grave goods. This haphazard burial of more than 200 people points to a massive mortality crisis that exceeded the city's normal burial capacity. Jerash was a major trade hub in the Eastern Roman Empire, which likely made its population more vulnerable to the spreading pandemic. Isotope analysis of the victims' teeth suggests they came from diverse geographic backgrounds, indicating a mobile population brought together by trade, migration, or imperial service before succumbing to the same disease. This site in Jordan is the first instance where a mass burial from the Justinianic Plague has been confirmed through both archaeological evidence and DNA analysis. Previously, researchers relied primarily on historical texts to understand the pandemic's toll. The findings from Jerash provide concrete biological proof of the plague's presence and impact at the heart of the Byzantine Empire.
