Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins

The Abbey of San Leonardo in Siponto (Apulia, Southern Italy) was an important religious and medical center during the Middle Ages. It was a crossroads for pilgrims heading along the Via Francigena to the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo and for merchants passing through the harbor of Manfredonia. A r...

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Autores principales:	Donato Antonio Raele, Ginevra Panzarino, Giuseppe Sarcinelli, Maria Assunta Cafiero, Anna Maria Tunzi, Elena Dellù
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	<i>Yersinia pestis</i> plague Black Death coins ancient DNA Italy Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a88d964575fe4bd2b139ab7f01c568b0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a88d964575fe4bd2b139ab7f01c568b02021-11-25T18:37:32ZGenetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins10.3390/pathogens101113542076-0817https://doaj.org/article/a88d964575fe4bd2b139ab7f01c568b02021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/11/1354https://doaj.org/toc/2076-0817The Abbey of San Leonardo in Siponto (Apulia, Southern Italy) was an important religious and medical center during the Middle Ages. It was a crossroads for pilgrims heading along the Via Francigena to the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo and for merchants passing through the harbor of Manfredonia. A recent excavation of Soprintendenza Archeologica della Puglia investigated a portion of the related cemetery, confirming its chronology to be between the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century. Two single graves preserved individuals accompanied by numerous coins dating back to the 14th century, hidden in clothes and in a bag tied to the waist. The human remains of the individuals were analyzed in the Laboratorio di Antropologia Fisica of Soprintendenza ABAP della città metropolitana di Bari. Three teeth from each individual were collected and sent to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Puglia e Basilicata to study infectious diseases such as malaria, plague, tuberculosis, epidemic typhus and Maltese fever (Brucellosis), potentially related to the lack of inspection of the bodies during burial procedures. DNA extracted from six collected teeth and two additional unrelated human teeth (negative controls) were analyzed using PCR to verify the presence of human DNA (β-globulin) and of pathogens such as <i>Plasmodium</i> spp., <i>Yersinia pestis</i>, <i>Mycobacterium</i> spp., <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. and <i>Brucella</i> spp. The nucleotide sequence of the amplicon was determined to confirm the results. Human DNA was successfully amplified from all eight dental extracts and two different genes of <i>Y. pestis</i> were amplified and sequenced in 4 out of the 6 teeth. Molecular analyses ascertained that the individuals buried in San Leonardo were victims of the Black Death (1347–1353) and the data confirmed the lack of inspection of the corpses despite the presence of numerous coins. This study represents molecular evidence, for the first time, of Southern Italy’s involvement in the second wave of the plague pandemic.Donato Antonio RaeleGinevra PanzarinoGiuseppe SarcinelliMaria Assunta CafieroAnna Maria TunziElena DellùMDPI AGarticle<i>Yersinia pestis</i>plagueBlack Deathcoinsancient DNAItalyMedicineRENPathogens, Vol 10, Iss 1354, p 1354 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	<i>Yersinia pestis</i> plague Black Death coins ancient DNA Italy Medicine R
spellingShingle	<i>Yersinia pestis</i> plague Black Death coins ancient DNA Italy Medicine R Donato Antonio Raele Ginevra Panzarino Giuseppe Sarcinelli Maria Assunta Cafiero Anna Maria Tunzi Elena Dellù Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins
description	The Abbey of San Leonardo in Siponto (Apulia, Southern Italy) was an important religious and medical center during the Middle Ages. It was a crossroads for pilgrims heading along the Via Francigena to the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo and for merchants passing through the harbor of Manfredonia. A recent excavation of Soprintendenza Archeologica della Puglia investigated a portion of the related cemetery, confirming its chronology to be between the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century. Two single graves preserved individuals accompanied by numerous coins dating back to the 14th century, hidden in clothes and in a bag tied to the waist. The human remains of the individuals were analyzed in the Laboratorio di Antropologia Fisica of Soprintendenza ABAP della città metropolitana di Bari. Three teeth from each individual were collected and sent to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Puglia e Basilicata to study infectious diseases such as malaria, plague, tuberculosis, epidemic typhus and Maltese fever (Brucellosis), potentially related to the lack of inspection of the bodies during burial procedures. DNA extracted from six collected teeth and two additional unrelated human teeth (negative controls) were analyzed using PCR to verify the presence of human DNA (β-globulin) and of pathogens such as <i>Plasmodium</i> spp., <i>Yersinia pestis</i>, <i>Mycobacterium</i> spp., <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. and <i>Brucella</i> spp. The nucleotide sequence of the amplicon was determined to confirm the results. Human DNA was successfully amplified from all eight dental extracts and two different genes of <i>Y. pestis</i> were amplified and sequenced in 4 out of the 6 teeth. Molecular analyses ascertained that the individuals buried in San Leonardo were victims of the Black Death (1347–1353) and the data confirmed the lack of inspection of the corpses despite the presence of numerous coins. This study represents molecular evidence, for the first time, of Southern Italy’s involvement in the second wave of the plague pandemic.
format	article
author	Donato Antonio Raele Ginevra Panzarino Giuseppe Sarcinelli Maria Assunta Cafiero Anna Maria Tunzi Elena Dellù
author_facet	Donato Antonio Raele Ginevra Panzarino Giuseppe Sarcinelli Maria Assunta Cafiero Anna Maria Tunzi Elena Dellù
author_sort	Donato Antonio Raele
title	Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins
title_short	Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins
title_full	Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins
title_fullStr	Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins
title_full_unstemmed	Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins
title_sort	genetic evidence of the black death in the abbey of san leonardo (apulia region, italy): tracing the cause of death in two individuals buried with coins
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a88d964575fe4bd2b139ab7f01c568b0
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Genetic Evidence of the Black Death in the Abbey of San Leonardo (Apulia Region, Italy): Tracing the Cause of Death in Two Individuals Buried with Coins

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