Uncovering Britain's DEADLY Prehistoric Plague - New Evidence

A study published in Nature Communications in May 2023 saw researchers reexamine bones from the Levens Park Ring Cairn. It was revealed that one of the four people buried within the cairn had been infected with the plague—the earliest known instance in Britain (circa 2000 BC).

Key sources:
Swali, P. et al. (2023) ‘Yersinia pestis genomes reveal plague in Britain 4000 years ago’, Nature communications, 14(1)

Clare, T. et al. (2021) ‘A re-interpretation of the Levens Park ring cairn, Cumbria, based on the original excavation archives’, Archaeological Journal, 178(2)

Clare, T., Wilkinson D.M., Moor Divock revisited: some new sites, survey and interpretations, CWAAS

Turnbull, P. & Walsh, D., A Beaker Burial in Levens Park, CWAAS

Harding, A.F. et al., Prehistoric and Early Medieval Activity on Danby
Rigg, North Yorkshire, Archaeological Journal