Project Details
Projekt
Climate, Famine, and Plague: A Pilot Study of the 14th-century Mass Graves of Erfurt from an Interdisciplinary Perspective
Subject Area
Medieval History
Physical Geography
Prehistory and World Archaeology
Physical Geography
Prehistory and World Archaeology
Term
from 2021 to 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 464607492
The proposal aims at the localization and rough dating of two mass graves of the 14th century in Erfurt, which presumably contain many hundreds of dead of the Great Famine 1315-21 and the Black Death 1347-1352. The proposal is to be understood as a pilot project that aims to clarify the geoarchaeological conditions and the historical lore of both mass graves. Therefore, the main applicants come from the disciplins of medieval history and physical geography, while paleogenetics, archaeology, anthropology and dendrochronology will have flanking functions until the main proposal. The aim is to create the basis for a follow-up project, which will then address the question of how environmental changes, famine, and the outbreak of infectious diseases are related to each other, with equal involvement of all the disciplines mentioned above. What is unique about the Erfurt case is that the connection between climate, famine and plague can be studied here in geographical proximity and that the mass graves are still accessible today. The following goals are to be achieved in the course of the proposed project:(1) A systematic overview of the edited and archival material on Erfurt during the period under study, but also on the excavation sites in their further history up to the present.(2) To clarify which hydroclimatic proxy data, but also which written documents are available to reconstruct the climatic conditions in and around Erfurt in the 14th century, but also across the Central German region.(3) Exploration of the cultural and historical background of both events with high mortality, beyond the research on the memorial processions. A first step is to examine toponyms around Erfurt and too look for references to famine, mass mortality and plague.(4) The precise localization and verification of the mass graves of Schmidtstedt and Neuseß by non-invasive methods of geophysical prospection, but also by minimally invasive methods like direct push-sensing and vibracoring.(5) From the drill cores taken by the minimally invasive methods, micro charcoal pieces and organic remains (bone fragments) will be examined at the investigation sites using the C14 method to verify their chronological assignment to the 14th century.(6) Finally, the project results will be published as a joint article that demonstrates exploration methods and the further potential of the pilot study for interdisciplinary work on the interrelation between environmental changes and human societies using the example of Erfurt in the crisis of the 14th century between Great Famine and Black Death.The pilot study is thus the prelude to an interdisciplinary cooperation of high contemporary relevance on the one hand, but also of great importance within medieval history and the historically working natural sciences.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
