History | Posted on May 21st, 2024 | return to news
Evidence of human sacrifice in Dorset
Excavations at a site at Winterborne Kingston have uncovered the remains of a woman in her 20s who could have been murdered.
Human sacrifices could have taken place in Iron Age Dorset.
That is the conclusion of a team from Bournemouth University who have been excavating a site at Winterborne Kingston for over 15 years since they first discovered prehistoric settlements in the area.
Their analysis from a skeleton of a woman her late twenties suggests she had suffered damage to one of her ribs, possibly inflicted through violence, weeks before she was killed by a stab wound to her neck.
Whilst the students and staff from the University had previously uncovered the remains of humans buried in graves and storage pits, this one appeared to be very different.
“In the other burials we have found, the deceased people appear to have been carefully positioned in the pit and treated with respect, but this poor woman hasn’t,” said Dr Martin Smith, associate professor in Forensic and Biological Anthropology at Bournemouth University.
“We have also previously found ceramic pots and remains of joints of meat next to human remains, which we believe are offerings for the afterlife. This was nothing like that. The young woman was found lying face down on top of a strange, deliberately constructed crescent shaped arrangement of animal bone at the bottom of a pit, so it looks like she was killed as part of an offering,” he said.
By studying the bones, the archaeologists have been able to discover more information about the victim’s life and tell some of her story.
Her spine showed signs of significant degeneration and arthritic change for her young age, and she also had damage to some of the discs between her vertebrae. This indicates exertion from regular hard work.
She also had well developed and rugged muscle attachments which is another sign of a rigorous and continuous physical activity.
The team also studied the isotopes in her teeth, which means they can identify where someone got their drinking water from as their teeth were developing as a child. This suggested that she originated from over 20 miles from the settlement. They are now carrying out DNA analysis to establish whether she was brought to the settlement as an outsider from another community.
“All the significant facts we have found such as the problems with her spine, her tough working life, the major injury to her rib, the fact she could have come from elsewhere, and the way she was buried could be explained away in isolation,” Dr Smith said.
“But when you put them all together with her deposition face down on a platform of animal bone, the most plausible conclusion is that she has been the victim of a ritual killing. And of course, we found a large cut mark on her neck which could be the smoking gun.”
The team highlight that as well as providing evidence of human sacrifice, being able to understand the life of the Iron Age woman has been important, both in terms of telling her individual story but also in understanding more about less-fortunate members of society in the past.
“The burials that get the most attention tend to be those of higher status, privileged people,” Dr Smith said. “However, being able to humanise the story of this woman’s life has given us a valuable glimpse into the other side of Iron Age society. Behind every ancient burial we find is someone’s story waiting to be told.”
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