10 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists unearth the remains of three dozen headless people at a stone age settlement in Vráble, Slovakia

Archaeologists have unearthed a mass grave containing the remains of about three dozen headless bodies of people at a settlement dated 5250-4950 BC in Vráble, western Slovakia.

The team of Slovak-German archaeologists investigating one of the largest Central European Stone Age settlements at Vráble thinks these people may have been killed in cult ceremonies.

The skeletons were found inside a defensive ditch of one of the largest Neolithic settlements in Central Europe.

Three settlement areas cover more than 120 acres in the Neolithic settlement. Over the last seven years, excavations and geophysical surveys have revealed more than 300 long houses in the settlement, albeit built at different stages of occupation. Archaeologists estimate that 50-70 houses were in use at any given time.

One of the three settlement areas was fortified with at least one defensive ditch and a palisade during the final phase of occupation. The settlement has six entrances through the defensive perimeters. Individual graves have been discovered in and around the ditch during previous excavations.

Photo: Ivan Cheben, SAV

This year, skeletal remains of at least 35 people were discovered in a lengthy ditch close to one of the settlement’s entrances. The bodies seem to have been thrown in randomly. They were discovered with their arms and legs extended, lying on their sides, backs, and stomachs. The grave contained the remains of men, women, and children, many of whom were adolescents and young adults when they passed away. Peri-mortem fractures do exist. The skull of one child and one mandible were the only bones from heads found in the grave.

Experts will also look for any genetic links between them, and whether the heads were forcibly removed or separation occurred only after the decomposition of the body.

“Only then will we be able to answer several questions about the social categorization of the [site’s] inhabitants, probably also about the emerging social inequality in the conditions of early agricultural societies, and perhaps even reconstruct the functioning or the causes of the demise of this vast settlement,” the director of the archaeological institute Matej Ruttkay said.

The researchers said some of their other findings about the settlement have been exceptional.

“In the final stage of operation, one of the areas was fortified with a moat with six entrances to the settlement, which was doubled by a palisade. This was absolutely exceptional in Central Europe at that time,” explains Ivan Cheben, head of archaeological research at SAV. “We also confirmed the presence of more than 300 longhouses through a detailed geophysical survey. It is possible that 50 to 70 houses could have been used at the same time in the individual stages of the settlement’s functioning.”

Cover Photo: Ivan Cheben, SAV

Related Articles

Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of what may be one of the four lost Ancient Egyptian “Sun Temples”

31 July 2022

31 July 2022

A Polish and Italian archaeological mission, while conducting an excavation in the Abusir necropolis near Saqqara in Egypt, unearthed the...

The first Dutch Neanderthal’s ‘Krijn’ face was reconstructed

7 September 2021

7 September 2021

World-renowned “paleo-artists” Kennis brothers have reconstructed the face of the first Neanderthal in the Netherlands. After more than 50,000 years,...

An ancient Roman road has been discovered in the Venice Lagoon

24 July 2021

24 July 2021

Researchers discovered a Roman road submerged in the Venice Lagoon. The finding suggests that substantial communities may have existed in...

Ancient DNA Reveals Missing Link in the Origins of Indo-European Languages Spoken by 40% of the World

6 February 2025

6 February 2025

A study published in the journal Nature has genetically identified the origins of the Indo-European language family, which includes over...

Underwater Archaeologists Discover a 7,000-Year-Old Road in Croatia

8 May 2023

8 May 2023

A team of underwater archaeologists from the University of Zadar has discovered the sunken ruins of a 7,000-year-old road that...

Puzzling rings may be finger loops from prehistoric weapon systems

24 May 2023

24 May 2023

When many researchers looked at an astonishing group of artifacts discovered at French archaeological sites, they presumed they were ornaments...

The Ancient City of Miletos’s “Sacred Cave” Opened to Visitors

2 October 2021

2 October 2021

In the ancient city of Miletos, which had an important place in the advancement of philosophy, art, and science in...

Time Team Cracks Sutton Hoo Mystery: ‘Master Count’ Bucket Was a Burial Urn

20 May 2025

20 May 2025

In a remarkable breakthrough at the historic Sutton Hoo site in Suffolk, England, archaeologists have revealed that a 6th-century Byzantine...

A 2,000-year-old whistle was found in a child’s grave in the ruins of Assos, Turkey

18 October 2022

18 October 2022

A terracotta whistle believed to be 2,000 years old from the Roman era and placed as a gift in a...

A 2,100-Year-Old Marble Statue of Mother Goddess Cybele Discovered in Ordu’s Ancient Kurul Castle

7 March 2025

7 March 2025

A breathtaking statue of the Mother Goddess Cybele, dating back 2100 years, was found at the historic Kurul Castle in...

2,800-Year-Old ‘Pharmaceutical production area’ discovered in ancient Thracian City

19 January 2024

19 January 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a “pharmaceutical production area” supported by a water source during ongoing excavations in the Thracian Ancient City...

2000-year-old passage found after Latrina at Smyrna Theater

28 January 2022

28 January 2022

Archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old passage that was 26 meters long and constructed in an “L” form in the theater part...

The 6th-Century “Türk-Kagan” Coin Discovery in Uzbekistan Could Rewrite History as the Oldest Known Record of the Name “Türk”

15 May 2025

15 May 2025

A remarkable archaeological find in Uzbekistan has unearthed a 6th-century coin bearing the inscription “Turk-Kagan,” a discovery that could significantly...

From Destruction to Discovery: Ancient Greek Tombstone Discovered in Libya After Storm ‘Daniel’

2 March 2025

2 March 2025

The Libyan Antiquities Authority has officially confirmed that an ancient artifact uncovered in the torrents caused by Storm “Daniel” in...

A Circular Building with Six Towers of the Achaemenid Period discovered in Khorasan

3 April 2024

3 April 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered an almost circular adobe building with six towers, built in the 6th century BC, near Birjand in...