A terrible epidemic swept through the Roman Empire in the second half of the 2nd century, between 165 and 180 AD, claiming nearly five million lives—ten percent of the population. That fifteen-year period represented the most serious public health problem in the history of Ancient Rome—with the exception of the Justinian plague—and some historians believe […]
Plagues
Posted inClassical Archaeology, Science
Researchers Reveal Major Epidemics in Roman Times, Such as the Plague of Justinian, Were Caused by Cold Snaps
Scientists have reconstructed temperature and rainfall records for the region of the Roman Empire between 200 BC and 600 AD using sediment cores from the southern Italian coast. This new study gives us the first high-resolution climate record for the heart of the Roman world during crucial centuries of its rise and fall. The researchers, […]
