The skeletons were found by workmen during digging to build an elevator in an area designed to house an expanded section of the
Uffizi's exhibit space.
Initial examination of the remains shows that the skeletons belong to more than 60 individuals of various ages and sex who probably succumbed to a devastating epidemic. According to the archaeologists, who have worked at the site for the past five months, the position and the way the bodies were laid in the graves, indicate an emergency situation.
Carlotta Cianferoni, director of Florence's National Archaeological Museum, told
Discovery News: "It appears they all died at the same time. Multiple graves contain up to 10 bodies, certainly buried in a hurry. Within the graves we also found some coins, all dating between the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th century A.D."
Discussing the coins, Cianferoni added: "The coins provide a rather accurate temporal reference, but of course we need to wait the results of the anthropological analysis and radiocarbon dating."
The Uffizi Gallery is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the
oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world. In high season (particularly in July), waiting times can be up to five hours.
