The impact of the plague on funerary practices during the Modern Period in France (16th to 18th centuries)

Abstract : The first known cases of plague, caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, occurred during the Bronze age 5000 years ago. During  the modern  period,  the mortality of the bubonic plague was about 80% and the pneumonie plague reached 100%.[4]

Several clues permit to suspect a plague epidemic in an archaeological site. A mortality crisis is detected by  the presence of several contemporaneous multiple  burials with a non-natural  dispersal of ages and sex. However, causes can be multiple. The plague does not induce osteological lesions, but it affects mostly teenagers and young adults. lt is also important to study  the  general  health of the deceased: malnutrition and bad hygiene are aggravating factors. [4]

There are three main pestiferous sites for the  Modern  period.  The first one is the Fédons cemetery (Lambesc), dating from 1590.[2] The others date from the last plague in 1720 (la fosse de

!'Observance, Marseille, and the site of Délos, Martigues).[3] The link with the plague was made thanks to historical archives and supported by molecular analyses for each of these three sites.[3] Y. pestis's DNA and a specific antigen were detected in the remains.[1]

ln the Fédons cemetery, 133 skeletons were discovered in multiple and individual burials, without coffins. They  all had  the same orientation  and position,[4] and some of them had a shroud. This shows that they were buried carefully, and funerary practices (except the number of bodies per grave) remained unchanged compared to normal time. lt seems contagion was not known yet.

ln Délos, 39 skeletons were found divided in three trenches  and  covered  with  lime. Their positions show  that they were thrown from the top of trenches.  Thus, the site has been interpreted as being used at the height of the epidemic.[1] However in L'Observance,  172 individuals were found in a huge pit, all wrapped in shrouds.[3] The pit was almost empty  when filled  in, and lime was poured gradually as corpses were piled up. lt led scientists to date the site from the end of the plague.

As time passed, practices  evolved. At the beginning of the period,  plague-sufferers were treated as other people, but just grouped together. During the last plague, people seemed in a hurry to throw the bodies, as contagion was known. Archaeological sites do not always have precise archives, and other diseases can bring to similar burials. Consequently, these funerary practices cannot be categorized as specific to the plague.