sweep across
黒死病で亡くなった方の骨が見つかったという記事です。黒死病（ペスト）は14Cに流行した感染病でヨーロッパの人口の多くが死亡したといわれる強力な菌です。この記事の中で気になった単語は”sweep across”です。『Wisdom英和辞典（第三版）』で調べると「（思想，感情，伝染病などが）急速に広まる」という意味がありました。”sweep”の語源は「突然上からとびかかる」であり，ここでは厄災が広域に降りかかったというニュアンスが伝わります。（Ume）
Black Death skeletons unearthed by Crossrail project
Archaeologists now believe it is under Charterhouse Square near the Barbican.
They plan to expand their search for victims across the square - guided by underground radar scans, which have picked up signs of many more graves.
Crossrail's lead archaeologist Jay Carver says the find "solves a 660-year-old mystery".
"This discovery is a hugely important step forward in documenting and understanding Europe's most devastating pandemic," he said.
"Further excavations will follow to see if - as we expect - we are coming across a much bigger mass burial trench."
Between 1347 and 1351 the "Great Pestilence" swept westward across Europe killing millions of people. It later became known as the Black Death.
