Mystery of the Black Death, The

Synopsis: Documentary shedding new light on the cause of the Black Death, which killed half the population of Europe in the 14th century. Scientists and historians have unearthed new evidence that the pandemic cannot be explained by blaming it all on bubonic plague transmitted by rats, and think that the culprit was a virus which emerged from animals and then vanished again. One team of British researchers reveals why the death records of a parish in the North of England suggest that the Black Death was in fact a mutant strain of the Ebola virus, still extant in certain parts of Africa. Shown originally as part of the ‘Everyman’ series on BBC2.
Series: Everyman
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2005
Notes: Broadcast on BBC2 on 15/10/2004
Subjects: Archaeology; History
Keywords: ebola virus; infectious diseases; Middle Ages; forensic archaeology; Black Death; bubonic plague

Name: BBC Active Video for Learning - now BBC Learning
Contact: Carolina Fernandez Jeremy Wilcox (CF - for educational enquiries JW - channel sales manager)
Email: BBCStudiosLearning@bbc.com
Web: https://www.bbcstudioslearning.com/ External site opens in new window
Phone: +44 (0) 20 8433 1009
Address: BBC Studios Limited
Television Centre
101 Wood Lane
London
W12 7FA
UK
Notes: The BBC Active company has now been absorbed within BBC Learning, a division of BBC Studios. It was originally a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Pearson Education. Formerly known as ‘BBC Worldwide Learning Studies’ and before that as ‘Videos for Education & Training’

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British Universities Film & Video Council