By Victoria Woollaston Researchers studying the skeletons of 14th century Londoners found life expectancy improved following the plague. Illustration by Kitty Shannon pictured The Black Death may have wiped out millions of people, but it also made the surviving residents of London healthier. Researchers studying the skeletons of 14th century Londoners found life expectancy improved in the generations following the great plague. And this may have been because the disease wiped out the weak and elderly, leaving only the strongest members of the population. Previous studies have shown the Black Death targeted elderly adults and the sick across Europe from around 1347 to 1351.
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Researchers sampled 600 skeletons taken from London cemeteries
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They estimated the ages of the deceased before modelling mortality risks
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Post-Black Death samples had a higher proportion of older adults
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This suggests survival rates may have improved following the epidemic
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Analysis also found mortality risks were lower in post-plague populations
Research suggests it took 150 years for @placeholder's population to recover from the effects of the plague.