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The Elizabeth Line, Europe's biggest infrastructure project, has allowed archaeologists to examine a cross-section of London life along its east-west route beneath the British capital. Now some objects from the tens of thousands excavated since in building the line, also known as Crossrail, are being revealed to the public.
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The skeletons of plague victims, humorous Victorian chamber pots, Roman horseshoes, mediaeval bone ice skates and even s railway company teacups are among the relics on display. A rare medallion of Roman emperor Philip I from the year , only the second example ever found in Europe, is also on show in the free exhibition running until September 3.
The train tunnels were bored up to 40 metres feet underground, but the construction of new surface stations also gave archeologists the chance to explore shallower layers where human activity has left its mark.
Skeletons Reveal Human and Chimpanzee Evolution | HHMI BioInteractive
While the central section of the Elizabeth Line runs through the Roman heart of the city, the suburban sections reveal shards of flint from tool-making 8, years ago. Crossrail excavations also turned up 68,year-old reindeer antlers and bison bones, plus a fragment of a woolly mammoth jaw. It contains a statue of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners, which was placed at tunnel entrances. As per tradition, the eight tunnel boring machines were given women's names, in this case Ada, Elizabeth, Ellie, Jessica, Mary, Phyllis, Sophia and Victoria.
DNA from ancient skeletons reveals cause of London's Great Plague
Crossrail will link London's centre to suburbs to the east and west, plus Heathrow Airport, along kilometres It should carry million passengers per year, providing an extra 10 percent of capacity on London's creaking transport network. The museum exhibition is situated in the Canary Wharf financial district in east London's former Docklands. Some 28 metres below the murky Thames water, engineers are putting the finishing touches the Canary Wharf Crossrail station.
Covered in scaffolding and boarding, the platforms, metres long and 30 metres wide, are in place, and works trains are already rumbling through the tunnels. The central London tunnel section opens in May before the full Elizabeth Line service starts in December that year. The making of a smart tunnel. A new book from the Museum of London detailing burial grounds found during Crossrail excavations features contributions from radiography researchers at City University London.
London skeletons reveal secrets of Black Death
They came from every parish of London, and from all walks of life, and ended up in a burial ground called Bedlam. CNN In , the Great Plague of London killed more than 75, people in the space of a year, almost a quarter of the city's population back then. It caused 8, deaths per week during its peak in September Stars Screen Binge Culture Media. Tech Innovate Gadget Mission: Chat with us in Facebook Messenger.
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Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Cause of the Great Plague of London confirmed.
An investigation of skeletons buried during the Great Plague of London has revealed the DNA of the bacteria responsible for the disease. The skeletons were discovered in an ancient burial site during construction of London's Crossrail train line. The mass grave was thought to be a "plague pit," discovered by Crossrail when constructing a new station at Liverpool Street in Scientists examined samples from 20 skeletons, looking for for traces of the plague pathogen Yersinia pestis, which they found in five of the individuals, confirming they had been exposed to it before they died.
While the bacteria is believed to be the cause of death in these people, it is no longer active, and perished days after the individuals died, years ago. In , the bacteria was deadly. London's Great Plague decimated the city's population, killing more than 75, people -- almost a quarter of people living in the city at the time. The team behind this research believe the DNA of these bacteria from hundreds of years ago can help us understand more about plague infections, past and future. Story highlights The DNA of bacteria that cause bubonic plague has been found in skeletons from an ancient mass burial ground The skeletons are thought to be of people who died in the Great Plague of London.
What is the plague?
To date, scientists and archaeologists alike have been unable able to state assuredly that the disease behind the deaths was in fact the Bubonic Plague -- until now. DNA sequenced from ancient skeletons dating back to the 17th century was found to match that of the bacteria responsible for the plague, known as Yersinia pestis.
The bacteria typically live in fleas found on small animals and rodents, such as rats, which can jump onto humans and bite them to spread the bacteria.