Date:

Austria’s oldest Bronze Age plague victims identified

A research project led by the Austrian Academy of Sciences has identified the plague pathogen in two young adults who lived 4,000-years-ago during the Bronze Age.

The plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis that occurs in three forms. Pneumonic plague infects the lungs causing shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain; bubonic plague affects the lymph nodes making them swell; and septicemic plague infects the blood and can cause tissues to turn black and die.

- Advertisement -

The burials were found in Drasenhofen in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, where archaeologists have excavated a row-grave cemetery comprising of 22 burials.

Both plague victims are males who died at the age of 23 to 30 and 22 to 27 during the Early Bronze Age around 2000 BC. Until now, finds from the Middle Ages were considered the oldest plague deaths in Austria.

Image Credit : ÖAW/Archaeprotect

“Their graves are in peripheral locations, so the community was probably aware that they had died of a contagious disease,” says archaeologist Katharina Rebay-Salisbury of the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW).

Working in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, samples from the victims were taken from the inside of the tooth crowns, as blood vessels run here and allow the detection of pathogens that were in the blood at the time of the individual’s death.

- Advertisement -

The results revealed evidence of Yersinia pestis, however, both individuals two had different strains of plague bacteria, suggesting that they were infected at two different events.

“Unlike later in the Middle Ages, the plague may not have been transmitted by fleas because the early plague bacteria lacked important genetic properties for this. It could therefore have been other routes of infection such as droplet infections or the consumption of infected meat,” said Rebay-Salisbury.

Austrian Academy of Sciences

Header Image Credit : ÖAW/Archaeprotect

- Advertisement -
spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 8,000 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Archaeologists find UAE’s first major Iron Age necropolis

The Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi has announced the discovery of the first major Iron Age necropolis in the United Arab Emirates.

Ramses III inscription discovered in Jordan’s Wadi Rum

Jordan’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced the discovery of an inscription bearing the seal of Ramses III in the Wadi Rum Reserve, Jordan.

Prince’s royal tomb discovered in Saqqara 

An archaeological mission led by Dr. Zahi Hawass has discovered the tomb of Prince Waser-If-Re, the son of King Userkaf, founder of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty.

Artefacts from Genghis Khan era rediscovered

Researchers at the Siberian Federal University (SFU) have rediscovered a collection of artefacts from the era of Genghis Khan while cataloguing undocumented objects in the storerooms of the Kytmanov Yenisei Museum-Reserve.

Face to face with royalty: Skull may belong to King Matthias Corvinus

A skull unearthed in the ruins of Hungary’s former royal coronation site may belong to King Matthias Corvinus.

Ancient Egyptian settlement discovered near Alexandria

Archaeologists excavating at Kom el-Nugus west of Alexandria have discovered the remains of a New Kingdom settlement.

Researchers uncover hidden inscriptions in Jerusalem’s Last Supper Room

An international team of researchers, including experts from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), have uncovered Medieval inscriptions hidden on the walls of the Cenacle – the traditional location of the Last Supper.

Thirty Years’ war camp excavation sheds light on military life

Archaeologists from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD) have excavated one of the largest fortified military camps of the Thirty Years' War, located in Stein, Germany.