Burials and the Black Death

The New Library Excavation, Hereford Cathedral

Derek Hurst

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781789258691
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: Social Sciences

Presents new structural evidence for Saxon Hereford, a possible nunnery and bishop's residence, and its ransacking in 1055 by the Welsh.

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.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Acknowledgements
• Contributors
• Summary
• 1 Introduction, by Derek Hurst (with contributions by Pat Hughes and Ron Shoesmith†)
• 2 Structural evidence, by Derek Hurst
• 3 Radiocarbon dating and chronological modelling, by Peter Marshall, Derek Hurst, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Elaine Dunbar, Sanne Palstra, Paula Reimer and Marie C Weale
• 4 Ceramics, by Derek Hurst and Alan Vince†
• 5 Metalwork, by Derek Hurst (with a note on a harness fitting by Aisling Nash)
• 6 The Hereford sword: technological investigation and appraisal, by Brian Gilmour
• 7 Coins and other possible numismatic finds, by David Symons
• 8 Worked flint, by Rob Hedge
• 9 Other artefacts, by Derek Hurst (with a note on the salmon bead by Sheila Hamilton-Dyer)
• 10.1 Human skeletal remains, by Darlene Weston, Alan Ogden† and Anthea Boylston
• 10.2 Life and death at Hereford Cathedral, by Sarah Stark
• 11 Disarticulated human remains from the charnel pit, by Hannah Haydock, Gemma Burton and Jo Buckberry
• 12 DNA analysis of the plague in Hereford, by Stephanie Hänsch, Darlene Weston and Barbara Bramanti
• 13 Multi-isotopic analysis, by Peter Marshall, Gundula Müldner and Jane A Evans
• 14 Faunal remains, by Ian L Baxter† (with contributions by Karis Baker and Sheila Hamilton-Dyer)
• 15 Environmental remains, by Elizabeth Pearson
• 16 Death, funerals and burials in late medieval Hereford: the documentary evidence, by Ian Forrest
• 17 Overall discussion and conclusions, by Derek Hurst
• Bibliography
• Index