Victim of violence
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a young woman in Dorset who they believe was killed as a human sacrifice during the Iron Age. Researchers suggested that a knife was struck in the neck area.
A team from Bournemouth University examined the remains of a 20-year-old woman who was killed after being stabbed in the neck . Her ribs are also damaged.
The remains were found during excavations at a 2,000-year-old prehistoric settlement at Winterbourne Kingston in central Dorset.
A university spokesman said: “Analysis shows she was in her 20s when she died and had lived a physically demanding and hard-working life. They also discovered that she had suffered damage to one of her ribs, possibly as a result of violence, weeks before she was killed by a stab wound to the neck. The combination of factors in their study suggests that this is rare physical evidence that human sacrifice took place in Iron Age Britain.»
Associate Professor of Forensic and Biological Anthropology Dr Martin Smith added: “In other burials we have found, the dead appear to have been carefully placed in the pit and treated with respect, but that was not the case with this poor woman. Previously, we have also found ceramic pots and meat remains next to human remains, which we believe are offerings for the afterlife. The young woman was found lying face down on a strange platform — a deliberately constructed crescent of animal bones at the bottom of a pit. Therefore, it appears that she was killed as part of an offering.”
The study, published in the Antiquities Journal, explains why the woman showed signs of significant degeneration and arthritic changes at a young age, as well as some damaged intervertebral discs. This indicates stress as a result of regular hard work.
Archaeologists also found that she had well-developed and strong muscle joints, which they said was another sign of intense and constant physical activity.
Isotope analysis of her teeth showed that she took drinking water approximately 20 miles (approximately 148 kilometers) from the settlement. The team is also conducting DNA testing to determine whether she was brought into the settlement as an outsider from another community.
Dr. Smith noted: “All the important facts that we found, such as problems with the spine, a hard working life, a serious rib injury, the fact that she may have come from somewhere else, and the way she was buried can all be explained separately. But if you put all this together, and the fact that she was lying face down on a platform of animal bones, the most plausible conclusion is that she was the victim of a ritual murder. And, of course, we found a large cut on her neck, which could be irrefutable proof of our theory.»
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