Prof. Maria Liston, Department of Anthropology, University of Waterloo, Canada; Whitehead Professor, ASCSA, "Plagues and Pestilence in Thebes: Evidence from the Early-Middle Byzantine Cemetery at the Sanctuary of Ismenion Apollo."

Excavations in the Sanctuary of Ismenion Apollo in Thebes revealed a later cemetery of Early and Middle Byzantine burials. Analysis of these burials has generated new information about burial practices in the transition from late Antique to Christian Thebes. A pathological survey of the skeletons has found that a remarkably high percentage of individuals suffered from significant,  pathologies, including cancers, brucellosis, extensive trauma, and leprosy. The very high percentage of individuals with leprosy suggests there may have been a nearby leprosarium or hospital, and that this cemetery served to bury those who died of particularly debilitating or disfiguring diseases.

The lecture will be livestreamed. Please click the play button bellow or click HERE.