death

The 'rubbish' left behind at a deserted medieval village in an isolated area of Yorkshire could hold clues about how societies achieve long-term 'green' prosperity, according to new research. The ruined stone church and grassy mounds of Wharram Percy are all that is left of a once-thriving community on a steep chalk hillside. However, a new study has revealed that the everyday items its residents left behind, such as broken cooking pots, show an economy that grew, adapted, and ultimately declined, offering fresh insight into how human societies can prosper without exhausting their resources. Researchers from the University of York analyzed centuries of archaeological evidence from Wharram Percy, including a massive database of broken pottery sherds and chalk walls now