LONDON, March 10 (UPI) -- A crew of 60 archaeologists have begun excavating a burial ground in order to make way for a railway extension. When it's all said and done, it's expected that Bedlam burial ground will yield more than 3,000 skeletons, many of which were buried during the Great Plague of 1665.
Historians believe the area was used as a burial ground from 1569 to 1738, but now it must be dug up to accommodate the new Crossrail ticket hall at Liverpool Street station.
The remains will provide scientists a number of research opportunities, including a chance to further investigate the evolution of the bacteria that killed some 100,000 people in 1665 and 1666 -- nearly a quarter of London's population.
"This excavation presents a unique opportunity to understand the lives and deaths of 16th and 17th century Londoners," lead archaeologist on the project, Jay Carver, told reporters.
Carver and his colleagues will be working six days a week for the next four weeks in order to complete the project and make way for construction to begin.
"The Bedlam burial ground spans a fascinating phase of London's history, including the transition from the Tudor-period city into cosmopolitan early-modern London," Carver added.
A preliminary study included the excavation of some 400 skeletons and dozens of artifacts.
"A large sample of the population from that period will enable us to look at the lifestyle, looking at Roman London and what the Romans were doing in the suburb area, outside the city walls," Nick Elsden, project manager from the Museum of London Archaeology, told CNN.
