30 mass graves with over 1500 skeletons recovered in Czech Republic

New Delhi : Believed to be from the 14th Century, the archaeologists have uncovered 30 mass graves containing over 1,500 skeletons this week from the Czech Republic, according to the Prague Daily Monitor.

It is believed that the skeletons recovered are of the victims of starvation from famine as well as epidemics in Bohemia dating back to the 14th century.

"We must realize that such a mass grave represents a sample of a population within a very short period, which is extremely valuable to us. The 30 graves, as far as I know, are the largest set in Europe," Jan Frolik, the Czech archaeologist who led the research, told the Monitor.

According to report, each grave contains skeletons of atleast 50 to 60 people. With a depth of about 8 feet, the graves are likely to have 26-27 layers each.

Archaeologists discovered the mass graves on the grounds of the Sedlec Ossuary, also called the “bone church," in the city of Kutná Hora, about an hour outside Prague.

According to Atlas Obscura, the site attracted countless numbers of bodies from the 13th century on, since it was believed to contain "holy soil." The morbid decorations were commissioned in 1870 by a woodcarver who was tasked with finding a way to make use of the astronomically high number of bones that were brought to the ossuary. 

Frolik told the Monitor that “It may be expected that further mass graves will be found during the research of the interior.”