Evidence of leprosy has been found in ancient skeletons from the Near East and it was probably present in Western Europe more than 200 years ago. It became a common disease in Europe in medieval times. The disease died out in most of Europe for reasons which are not clear, more than 200 years ago, although there were significant numbers of new cases in Norway until the early years of the 20th century. UNESCO's Memory of the World has extensive archived material from this well-documented epidemic in Norway. An online database of material on the History of Leprosy is available, although unfortunately few of the resources listed in the databases are themselves online. The severe stigma attached to leprosy usually meant that people affected were driven into segregated settlements know as "leper colonies". Fortunately, most of these have either been closed or developed into normal communities.