Egyptian Funerary Complex Was Used To Burn Bodies during Ancient Plague

Researchers have unearthed human remains that provide insight on a terrible plague that spread across Egypt and other countries from A.D. 250-271.

The epidemic throughout the ancient Roman Empire was killing thousands of people per day and seemed to herald the end times for one bishop, who detailed the plague in his writings, Live Science reported.

Known as the "Plague of Cyprian," the epidemic "according to some sources killed more than 5,000 people a day in Rome alone," wrote Francesco Tiradritti, director of the MAIL, in the latest issue of Egyptian Archaeology, as quoted by Live Science.

Researchers working near the ancient city of Thebes, which is now Luxor, have discovered bodies covered thickly with lime to be disinfected. More bodies were unearthed in the remains of a giant bonfire to incinerate plague victims along with three kilns where lime was produced.

After the epidemic ended, the Funerary Complex of Harwa and Akhimenru was shunned for centuries because of its reputation as a place to dispose of infected corpses. The gruesome disease essentially dissolved the human body, causing wrenching vomiting and bleeding. People who died of the plague had to be hastily buried, likely leaving little time for religious rites.

"We found evidence of corpses either burned or buried inside the lime," Tiradritti told Live Science in an interview. "They had to dispose of them without losing any time."

The researcher and his team excavated the area, which was apparently a spot to dispose of plague-ridden bodies, between 1997 and 2012. Due to the Egyptian climate, it is unlikely that any DNA can be extracted from the bodies found.

 "In a climate like Egypt, the DNA is completely destroyed," Tiradritti told Live Science.

The epidemic is called the Plague of Cyprian after Saint Cyprian, a bishop of Carthage who described the devastating sickness in his writings and believed the plague signaled the end of the world.

While the plague didn't turn out to signify the world's end, it is believed to have been a catalyst for the fall of the Roman Empire, according to Tiradritti.