A mass grave containing multiple interlinked skeletal remains has been discovered in Vienna, Austria.
As reported by NBC, on Wednesday, April 2, archaeological analysis found the bodies to be dated back to the 1st-century Roman Empire.
Vienna museum gave a first public presentation of the grave, which was discovered in October by construction crews stirring up dirt to renovate a Vienna soccer field.
The discovery was linked to "a catastrophic event in a military context" and evidence of the first known fighting ever in that region.
Related: Archaeologists discover almost life-sized statues in Pompeii tomb
Furthermore, 129 bodies have been confirmed at the site in the Vienna neighborhood of Simmering.
The excavation teams also found many dislocated bones, expected the actual number of bodies to be more than 150, a discovery never seen before in Central Europe.
Michaela Binder, who led the dig shared, "Within the context of Roman acts of war, there are no comparable finds of fighters."
He further added, "There are huge battlefields in Germany where weapons were found. But finding the dead, that is unique for the entire Roman history."
Kristina Adler-Wolfl, head of Vienna city archaeological department revealed, "They have various different battle wounds, which rules out execution. It is truly a battlefield. There are wounds from swords, lances; wounds from blunt trauma."
Related: Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old Stonehenge-like structure in Denmark
Notably, soldiers in the Roman Empire were typically cremated until the 3rd century and in these findings the victims were all male, most aged between 20 to 30 years old.
