Mass grave in Jordan sheds new light on world’s earliest recorded pandemic

Researchers say their findings offer a rare window into the urban life, mobility and vulnerability of citizens affected by the Justinian plague. Photograph: Karen Hendrix/University of Sydney

A US-led research team has verified the first Mediterranean mass grave of the world’s earliest recorded pandemic, providing stark new details about the plague of Justinian that killed millions of people in the Byzantine empire between the sixth and eighth centuries.

The findings, published in February’s Journal of Archaeological Science, offer what researchers say is a rare empirical window into the mobility, urban life and vulnerability of citizens affected by the pestilence.