In 2008, archaeological excavations carried out in the inner courtyard of the former Jesuit College of Alghero brought to light the San Michele cemetery. Characteristic of the site are some burial trenches, narrow and long pits containing the remains of 10 to 30 individuals, and some multiple tombs, which can be related to the plague epidemic that ravaged the city in 1582-83. The present study is focused on the demographic analysis of the 16 trenches containing 185 individuals and of one multiple tomb (T.141) with 14 individuals. In the case of the trenches it was possible to determine the sex of 178 individuals: 37 are males (20.7%), 53 females (29.8%) and 88 of undetermined sex (49.5%). As for the first two groups, 35.6% of individuals has an age comprised between 20 and 29 years; the two age ranges 30-39 and 40-49 years present the same percentage (25.6%), 8.9% are aged between 17 and 19, and finally 4.4% are over the age of 50. The undetermined sex category is represented by 81 subadults and 7 adults. As for the subadults, the most representative age group is that between 7 and 12 years old with 39.8%, followed by the 23.9% between 13 and 19 years, 18.2% between 2 and 6 years, and finally, 10.2% between 0 and 1 years. The multiple tomb 141 include an adult individual (20-29 years) of undetermined sex, a woman of about 17 years and with a 35-week fetus in her womb, and finally 12 subadults included in an age range between 0-1 years (21.4%), 2-6 years (7.1%) and 7-12 years (50.0%). The cemetery of San Michele presents some similarities with the French cemetery of Martigues struck by the plague in 1720. Also in this cemetery the type of trench burials was found, 5 in this case, with 199 individuals. The comparison between the paleodemographic curves for both cemeteries evidences a similarity of the mortality trend. The difference between normal and catastrophic cemeteries, related to a severe epidemic event, consists in the fact that while in the former there is a greater presence of infants and elderly, in the latter there is a certain homogeneity of mortality, proof of the fact that the plague kills in a random way and therefore all individuals present the same risk of death.
Analisi demografica del cimitero della peste di Alghero (1582-1583)
GIUFFRA V;
2019-01-01
Abstract
In 2008, archaeological excavations carried out in the inner courtyard of the former Jesuit College of Alghero brought to light the San Michele cemetery. Characteristic of the site are some burial trenches, narrow and long pits containing the remains of 10 to 30 individuals, and some multiple tombs, which can be related to the plague epidemic that ravaged the city in 1582-83. The present study is focused on the demographic analysis of the 16 trenches containing 185 individuals and of one multiple tomb (T.141) with 14 individuals. In the case of the trenches it was possible to determine the sex of 178 individuals: 37 are males (20.7%), 53 females (29.8%) and 88 of undetermined sex (49.5%). As for the first two groups, 35.6% of individuals has an age comprised between 20 and 29 years; the two age ranges 30-39 and 40-49 years present the same percentage (25.6%), 8.9% are aged between 17 and 19, and finally 4.4% are over the age of 50. The undetermined sex category is represented by 81 subadults and 7 adults. As for the subadults, the most representative age group is that between 7 and 12 years old with 39.8%, followed by the 23.9% between 13 and 19 years, 18.2% between 2 and 6 years, and finally, 10.2% between 0 and 1 years. The multiple tomb 141 include an adult individual (20-29 years) of undetermined sex, a woman of about 17 years and with a 35-week fetus in her womb, and finally 12 subadults included in an age range between 0-1 years (21.4%), 2-6 years (7.1%) and 7-12 years (50.0%). The cemetery of San Michele presents some similarities with the French cemetery of Martigues struck by the plague in 1720. Also in this cemetery the type of trench burials was found, 5 in this case, with 199 individuals. The comparison between the paleodemographic curves for both cemeteries evidences a similarity of the mortality trend. The difference between normal and catastrophic cemeteries, related to a severe epidemic event, consists in the fact that while in the former there is a greater presence of infants and elderly, in the latter there is a certain homogeneity of mortality, proof of the fact that the plague kills in a random way and therefore all individuals present the same risk of death.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
