Burials and the Black Death
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1000 AD
1055
1140
7th century
8th century
9th century
aDNA analysis
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
artefacts
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B01=Derek Hurst
bishop's residence
bishop’s residence
Black Death
British Archaeology
buildings
burials
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=AMN
Category=HBJD1
Category=HBLC
Category=HDDM
Category=NHDJ
Category=NKD
cellar
cesspit
charnel
chronological modelling
COP=United Kingdom
Delivery_Pre-order
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
gravel/sand quarry
gravelsand quarry
Hereford
Hereford Cathedral
human remains
Language_English
late-Saxon cemetery
late-Saxon sword
mass graves
Medieval
Medieval Europe (c. 1000 - 1500)Archaeology
Medieval Europe (c. 1000 – 1500)/Archaeology
mid-11th century
Norman cathedral
PA=Not yet available
plague
population
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Forthcoming
radiocarbon dating
remains
roadway
softlaunch
stratigraphy
Product details
- ISBN 9781789258684
- Dimensions: 210 x 297mm
- Publication Date: 31 Mar 2026
- Publisher: Oxbow Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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Excavation at Hereford Cathedral in 1993, prior to the construction of the Mappa Mundi Museum and a new archive library, revealed extensive archaeological remains, commencing with 8th/9th-century buildings and a Saxon cemetery. In the 10th century a well-metalled road surface was constructed. Alongside this, a very substantial building arose, partially built in stone, and with a cellar. Its scale and design indicated this to be the bishop’s residence. It was, however, remarkably short-lived. Its cellar became a cesspit, a pattern-welded sword lay on its floor, and overlying fills included an ornate inkwell, and a collection of animal carcasses. Radiocarbon dating suggests the Welsh ransacking of Hereford in 1055 as the context, recorded in historical evidence as disastrous for the cathedral.
The site of the cellared building was later quarried for aggregate, which accords well with major building works during the Norman period, most notably the Losinga Chapel and the new cathedral. A vast amount of mostly Saxon charnel was incorporated into backfilling the quarry, its final deposition being accompanied by inhumation burials, some being irregular. The latter may be linked to the violent hostilities in Hereford (c 1140) during the Anarchy.
From the mid-12th century the site wholly became a cemetery area, and the excavation of about 1000 burials has provided a full cross-section of the medieval population, with their analysis covering aspects such as health, stature and even origins. In the 14th century, three mass burial pits occurred, with dating consistent with the first outbreak of plague, the ‘Black Death’, in 1349. Associated analysis has contributed to an international study, successfully using ancient DNA analysis to identify the presence of Yersinia pestis, the plague microbe.
This report includes detailed reporting on the finds, particularly the human remains, with the interpretation of the entire stratigraphic sequence underpinned throughout by extensive radiocarbon dating and chronological modelling.
Derek Hurst is a senior project manager with Worcestershire Archaeology and heads their post-excavation. With an extensive background in ceramic studies, his principal research interest is in the central role of finds data for the interpretation of sites.
