In a 10-year study, archaeologists (attempt to) pin mass deaths in London on climate change circa 1200 A.D. 

archaeologicalnews:

Archaeologists who discovered thousands of skeletons in medieval mass graves in London’s East End believe many were the victims of a 13th Century volcanic eruption on the other side of the world.

The skeletons were uncovered next to Spitalfields Market when the new Spital Square development was started 20 years ago.

Experts believed for years they were plague victims—but radiocarbon dating didn’t add up.

Now a 10-year ecological investigation by the Museum of London has discovered the likely cause to be a volcano which led to world temperatures cooling down and crops failing, resulting in mass starvation.

Some 10,500 skeletons dating from the 12th to 16th centuries were uncovered by the archaeologists, including mass burial pits which had scientists baffled because the radiocarbon dating didn’t match known events in medieval England like the Black Death or Great Famine. Read more.