Archaeologists working alongside builders on a new London rail
link have turned up a grisly find that harks back seven
centuries, to a time when Black Death stalked the medieval city.
A shaft sunk for the underpinnings of the new Crossrail link in
Farringdon revealed 13 skeletons, lined up neatly in two rows,
the company said Friday. Suspicions are that the dig has
revealed a "plague pit" -- one of many mass graves used to
dispose of the bodies of those who succumbed to the Black Death,
or bubonic plague, in the 14th century. Since then, the bones
have lain undisturbed just 2.5 meters (8 feet) below the surface
in one of the few areas of the central London neighborhood not
to have been developed over the years. Historical records talk
of a "no man's land" established in 1348 in the Farringdon area,
where some 50,000 plague victims were buried, according to a
contemporary historian. Up to now the area has never been found.
The shaft sunk as part of Crossrail's construction is located on
the edge of Charterhous