“All appear to have been relatively young men flung into the pit without care,” the University of Cambridge said of the human remains
Credit: Cambridge Archaeological
NEED TO KNOW
- University of Cambridge archaeologists and students unearthed a Viking-era “execution pit” in England
- During a training excavation led by Dr. Oscar Aldred, they discovered “10 individuals based on the number of skulls”
- “All appear to have been relatively young men flung into the pit without care,” the university explained of the remains
Students on the path to becoming professional archaeologists made an “extraordinary discovery” during a training dig.
University of Cambridge archaeologists and students unearthed a Viking-era “execution pit” in England on the outskirts of Cambridge.
“The pit contained the remains of 10 individuals based on the number of skulls, including at least one decapitation and a man well over six foot in stature — extremely tall for the time — with a trepanned head,” the university wrote in a February news release.
The discovery — made during an excavation led by Dr. Oscar Aldred from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit at Wandlebury Country Park — was described as unusual, partly due to the site containing dismembered remains and skeletons positioned as though the people were tied up.
Credit: Cambridge Archaeological
“All appear to have been relatively young men flung into the pit without care, leading archaeologists to believe they found the wake of a skirmish or battle, or perhaps a mass execution — or a combination of both,” the university wrote, pinpointing the events to around the 9th century AD.
Aldred explained that evidence suggests some of the human remains are the result of executions instead of battle-induced deaths.
“Those buried could have been recipients of corporal punishment, and that may be connected to Wandlebury as a sacred or well-known meeting place,” Aldred said in the news release.
Credit: Cambridge Archaeological
Aldred added, “It may be that some of the disarticulated body parts had previously been displayed as trophies, and were then gathered up and interred with the executed or otherwise slaughtered individuals.”
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Historic England’s East of England Regional Director Tony Calladine put the discovery involving the students, who are part of Cambridge’s undergraduate archaeology program, into perspective.
“Wandlebury is an important natural and historic resource for the people of Cambridgeshire,” Calladine said in the release. “The extraordinary discovery there speaks to the story of our nation and the lives of ordinary people living during turbulent times.”
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