Over 1,500 human remains found at Japan mass grave
August 26, 2020
Archaeologists have unearthed 1,500 human remains from a 19th-century burial site in Osaka. Experts believe the bones belong to local residents who may have perished in an epidemic that swept the region in the 1800s.
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An excavation at a redevelopment site in the western Japanese city of Osaka has uncovered the remains of 1,500 people buried in a mass grave dating back to the late 1800s.
Officials from the Osaka City Cultural Properties Association said Wednesday the bones likely belonged to young people and children who lived in the area some 160 years ago.
"It was our first historical discovery of a burial site in Osaka," Yoji Hirata, an official at the association, said. "The findings will provide details of burial traditions of ordinary people back then.''
Many of the remains were found in small round holes. Some appeared to have signs of disease on the limbs, suggesting the burial site may have been for victims of an epidemic, Hirata said. He added that archaeologists also found coffins containing multiple bodies — a possible sign that people were buried together because they died of disease.
Experts will now study the remains in the hope of shedding light on what led to the deaths. Some researchers have pointed to an outbreak of syphilis in Osaka at the time as a possible explanation for the mass grave.
The discovery is part of the Umeda Grave, one of seven historical burial grounds dating back to the 1850s and 1860s during the time of Japan's late Edo and early Meiji periods.
It was excavated for a city redevelopment project near one of Osaka's main train stations and lies in what used to be a farming area outside Osaka Castle town.
Hirata said the dig that led to the discovery of the 1,500 remains got underway in September after an earlier study found hundreds of similar bones at nearby sites.
Researchers also found 350 urns, as well as coins, Buddhist prayer beads, combs, sake cups and clay dolls that were believed to have been buried with the dead. They also unearthed the remains of animals, including four piglets, horses, and cats.
Hirata said the findings would be compiled in a report expected at the end of next year.
Archaeologists discover new mummy burial site in Egypt
A catacomb with 17 mummies lay untouched for 2,000 years before the University of Cairo came digging.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Dated to the Greco-Roman era
The artifacts found with mummies date back the era that started with Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt. They were the first human mummies discovered in the area, a site rich in artifacts which lies near the Nile Valley city of Minya.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Mostly intact
The eight-meter (9-yard) deep necropolis included six sarcophagi, two clay coffins, two papyri written in demotic script and several vessels. The mummies were elaborately preserved and were likely officials and priests.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
More to come
At the edge of the necropolis, legs and feet of other mummies could be seen, pointing to a much bigger find. Excavation is still at the preliminary stage.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Message from the ancestors
Egypt's economically-vital tourism industry has largely collapsed since the 2011 uprising against longtime dictator Hosny Mubarak. The Ministry of Antiquities said the latest finds were "as if our ancestors are sending a message for tourism to come back strongly."
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Latest in a series
The discovery comes after a series of important finds in Egypt. Eight mummies were uncovered inside a 3,500-year-old tomb in the southern city of Luxor in April. A month earlier, a massive colossus likely depicting the 26th dynasty King Psamtik I was unearthed in Cairo.
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
Burial shafts
Salah al-Kholi, a Cairo University professor of Egyptology who headed the expedition, said his team found burial shafts and that excavation work "revealed that these shafts led to a number of corridors inside a cachette of mummies."
Image: Reuters/M.A. El Ghany
So many mummies
Kholi said the discovery was "the first human necropolis found in central Egypt with so many mummies." There could be as many as 32 mummies in the chamber, including mummies of women, children and infants.