The archaeological legacy of the Crossrail excavations

For anyone interested in history and archaeology this is a fascinating read - they have managed to find DNA from a Great Plague death pit!!    LL

Scientific analysis of skeletons identified the DNA of the bacteria that caused the 1665 Great Plague
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-38919314

Fantastic LL. Will read it later!

There have been one or two excellent documentaries about it, Lily, it is amazing what has been found in the course of the tunneling.

Wonderful, Bonny. I can't imagine what they will find next.....

Even by the standards of Roman history, it was a brutal and macabre find. Crossrail’s chief archaeologist, Jay Carver, speculates that the heads might have been hung from the branches of trees along the road – as gruesome trophies perhaps – until they rotted or were pecked bare by birds and tumbled to the ground where they lay undisturbed for almost two millennia.
Most mysterious of all, these are just a few of the hundreds of skulls dug up within about a mile of St Paul’s Cathedral during the past two centuries.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3552433/The-Mystery-Crossrail-Skulls-TV-explores-human-remains-dug-London-building-work-new-train-line.html#ixzz4YJoP8rD3
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I don't think this one was Crossrail, but how about a Roman princess?

http://www.historyextra.com/article/romans/how-we-solved-mystery-roman-princess



The silt had itself preserved bay leaves and fragments of what had once been a rich garment of silk, embroidered with gold thread.

I watched a repeat of that a couple of weeks ago, and the bay leaves were astounding - they looked as if they'd just fallen in the mud a couple of days ago, not 2,000 years.

Two male Black Death victims were found hand in hand (circled) in a double grave by London Crossrail diggers. The discovery has puzzled archaeologists, who have suggested that the men may have been family members or lovers

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4248444/Crossrail-diggers-men-buried-hand-hand.html#ixzz4ZROvi7p6
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Family members, yes. Lovers - I doubt it very much. The Middle Ages weren't exactly known for their Gay Pride parades....

That is so neat.