Britain’s cannibal vicitims seen for the first time in 4,500 years: Grisly remains reveal how dozens of people were killed, butchered and consumed in the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age was a time of cultural and technological change in Britain.
But according to a new study, it was also a time of cannibalism.
Analysis of human remains from 2500 BC shows that dozens of people were killed, slaughtered and consumed in a very violent incident.
And it casts doubt on the idea that Britain was relatively peaceful in the Early Bronze Age, experts say.
A team of archaeologists, led by the University of Oxford, examined more than 3,000 human bones and bone fragments excavated at Charterhouse Warren, a hamlet in Somerset.
They were first discovered in a 15 meter deep shaft in the 1970s and represent at least 37 individuals: a mix of men, women and children.
Unlike most contemporary burials, the skulls showed signs of a violent death due to blunt force trauma, for example a blow to the head with something hard.
Further analysis of the bones revealed numerous lacerations and perimortem fractures made around the time of death, indicating that they were deliberately butchered and possibly partially consumed.
Analysis of human remains from 2500 BC indicates that dozens of people were killed, slaughtered and consumed in a very violent incident
A team of archaeologists led by the University of Oxford have examined more than 3,000 human bones and bone fragments unearthed in the Somerset hamlet of Charterhouse Warren.
Although hundreds of human skeletons dating from a similar time have been found in Britain, direct evidence of violent conflict is rare.
‘We are actually finding more evidence of injuries to skeletons from the Neolithic period in Britain [10,000BC] than the Early Bronze Age, so Charterhouse Warren stands out as something very unusual,” said lead author Professor Rick Schulting.
‘It paints a considerably darker picture of the period than many expected.’
The researchers said evidence of a violent death – without any indication of a struggle – implies the victims were surprised.
They probably all were slaughtered and the slaughter was carried out by their enemies, they concluded.
Many cattle bones were found mixed with human bones, indicating that the people of Charterhouse Warren had enough to eat without having to resort to cannibalism.
Instead, cannibalism may have been a way to dehumanize the dead, the team suggests, and by eating their flesh and mixing the bones with those of cows, the killers compared their enemies to animals.
While it is impossible to know why the massacre occurred, researchers suggest it may have been social factors, such as theft or insults, which led to tensions that escalated out of proportion.
The researchers said evidence of a violent death – without any indication of a struggle – implies the victims were surprised
‘Charterhouse Warren is one of those rare archaeological sites that challenges the way we think about the past.’ Professor Schulting added.
‘It is a stark reminder that people in prehistoric times could emulate more recent atrocities and shines a light on a dark side of human behaviour.
‘The fact that it was probably not a one-off event makes it all the more important that its story is told.’
The findings were published in the journal Antiquity.