The 3rd century tomb was used to stop the deadly spread of a pandemic The Cyprian Plague killed 5,000 people a day at its peak from 250 to 271 AD The disease was believed to be smallpox ...

Named after Saint Cyprian, who first documented its symptoms, this plague emerged in Ethiopia around 250 CE before spreading throughout the Roman Empire. The disease, possibly smallpox or viral ...

Ancient texts give us some clues as to why. In the mid-to-late third century, the Cyprian Plague tore through the empire, killing some hundreds of thousands in a slow and excruciating manner.