A new analysis of broken pottery fragments collected from various rural locations throughout east England has shed new light on the devastating impact of the Black Death, the fearsome pandemic that ravaged much of Europe between the years of 1346 and 1351. University of Lincoln reserachers collected pieces of pottery from nearly 2,000 standard-sized test pits in more than 55 locations in six counties which were also settlements during the 14th century. These artifacts were excellent indicators of the human population because they were commonly-used everyday items. By counting and comparing the number and weight of broken pottery pieces from different date levels, the researchers were able to determine how many people were living at a specific location at any given time. What they found was the “eye-watering” discovery that the population fell by as much as 70 percent in some areas, such as Binham in Norfolk; Cottenham in Cambridgeshire, Shillington in Bedfordshire, and Great Amwell in Hertfordshire. Historians have debated the plague's true impact, but a new study shows the disease killed between 35 and 55 percent of England's population http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113414239/black-death-toll-discovered-052516/
