Early Bronze Age bone remains unearthed in southwest England, revealing a brutal and previously unknown chapter of British prehistory.
According to CNN, archaeologists have discovered more than 3,000 bones of violently killed at least 37 men, women, and children. After analysis, it was suggested that the bones of people found from a 49.2-foot (15-meter) natural shaft were brutally killed between 2210 and 2010 BC at Charterhouse Warren, in Somerset.
The study published in the journal Antiquity suggested that the human remains show evidence of violence and brutality during the Early Bronze Age.
The lead study author, Rick Schultin, said in a statement, “We actually find more evidence for injuries to skeletons dating to the Neolithic period (10,000 BC to 2,200 BC) in Britain than the Early Bronze Age, so Charterhouse Warren stands out as something very unusual. It paints a considerably darker picture of the period than many would have expected.”
Moreover, after analysis, it was revealed that a number of skulls showed they were crushed with blunt force. The fractures and cutmarks showed that the heads, arms, and legs of the victims were removed from bodies with stone tools. It also showed that “lower jaws, tongues, scalps, and skin had been removed.”
Study authors noted that no human skeletons recovered from 2500 to 1500 BC in England contain this level of evidence of brutality.
