29 September 2023 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

Banner
Related Post

1400-Year-Old Folding Chair Found in a Woman’s Grave in Germany

30 August 2022

30 August 2022

In Steinsfeld, in the German state of Ansbach, archaeologists have unearthed a 1,400-year-old folding chair from an early medieval woman’s...

The Mountain of Shemharus, King of the Ginn: Toubkal

14 August 2022

14 August 2022

Towering over the Atlas Mountains, Mount Toubkal is the highest peak in Morocco. Toubkal, the highest mountain in all of...

Göbeklitepe Monolith will be Exhibited in the United Nations

15 May 2021

15 May 2021

A copy of one of the famous ruins of Göbeklitepe, known as the oldest temple in the world, will be...

Archaeologists Find Mysterious 2,800-year-old Channels in Jerusalem

30 August 2023

30 August 2023

Archaeologists excavating in Jerusalem have uncovered a network of mysterious channels dating back to the days of King Joash and...

Archaeologists say 12,000-year-old flutes discovered in northern Israel may have been used to lure falcons

9 June 2023

9 June 2023

New research reveals that about 12,000 years ago, in northern Israel, humans turned the bones of small birds into instruments...

Archaeologists may have found the lost 2,000-year-old ancient city of Bassania in Albania

19 June 2022

19 June 2022

Polish archaeologists may have discovered the 2,000-year-old lost city of Bassania in Albania. The remains of two large ancient stone...

5500-year-old city gate unearthed in Israel -the earliest known in the Land of Israel-

15 August 2023

15 August 2023

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday that archaeologists have discovered the earliest known ancient gate in the land of...

The unknown importance of Göllü Dağ on the route of the first humans’ Transition from Africa to Europe

4 October 2021

4 October 2021

The researches conducted in Göllü Dağ and its surroundings, located within the borders of Niğde province in Central Anatolia, and...

The mythical hero of Troy and Rome Aeneas’s peerless mosaic discovered in Türkiye

11 May 2023

11 May 2023

A large mosaic depicting the legendary Trojan hero Aeneas, the protagonist of Virgil’s epic poem “The Aeneid” and the ancestor...

6,000-Year-Old Settlement Was home to Europe’s first megalithic monument makers

22 February 2023

22 February 2023

Archaeologists in France unearthed the remains of a series of wooden buildings within a defensive enclosure that were built at...

1,800-year-old wooden mask likely used in farm festivals found in Japan

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed an almost perfectly preserved wooden mask from the early third century at the Nishi-Iwata ruins in Osaka...

Unexpected finds under the Tel Aviv Suburban

21 August 2021

21 August 2021

In preparation for a planned residential building project in suburban Tel Aviv, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have begun...

God Pan statue unearthed at Istanbul’s historical church of St. Polyeuctus

1 June 2023

1 June 2023

A Pan statue thought to belong to the Roman period was recovered during excavation works carried out by Istanbul Metropolitan...

Shackled skeleton identified as rare evidence of slavery found in Rutland

7 June 2021

7 June 2021

In Rutland, archaeologists discovered an ‘unusual’ skeleton of a Roman slave, who might have been a criminal sentenced to death....

New Findings from 3,000-year-old Uluburun shipwreck: Uzbekistan Nomads Supplied a Third of the Bronze Used Across Ancient Mediterranean

5 December 2022

5 December 2022

A new study of the 3,o00 years old Uluburun shipwreck revealed a complex ancient trading network during the late bronze...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *