7 February 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The Headless Corpses of Somersham was Victims of Roman Executions

Excavations at Knobb’s Farm in Somersham, Cambridgeshire, unearthed three small late Roman graves on the outskirts of an agricultural village.

Archaeologists found many a cluster of decapitated corpses dating back to the 3rd century in this burial site. The researchers said these bodies belonged to Roman military execution victims.

There were 17 decapitated bodies and 13 prone graves among the 52 graves discovered, significantly more than the British average. Cut marks on two victims suggest that decapitation was the cause of death, while cuts on two additional bodies suggest that they were subjected to extreme violence.

Archaeologist Isabel Lisboa said 33% of those found had been executed, compared to 6% in most Roman British cemeteries.

The finds were made during a series of excavations between 2001 and 2010. Photo: DAVE WEBB, CAMBRIDGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT

At least one of those executed, an older woman found face-down, appeared to have been tortured immediately before to death or mutilated thereafter. Their heads were found placed at their feet or lower legs.

Dr Lisboa, from Archaeologica, said they dated from a time of increasing instability for the Roman Empire, when legal punishments became harsher.

“The number of capital crimes doubled in the 3rd Century and quadrupled in the 4th Century,” she said.

Most of those found were buried in separate graves with many in poor condition and some reduced to sand shadows
Most of those found were buried in separate graves with many in poor condition and some reduced to sand shadows. Photo: CAMBRIDGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT

“As it was part of the Roman army, directly or indirectly, the severity of punishments and the enforcement of Roman law would have been more severe at the Somersham settlements,” she said.

The settlement is believed to have supplied the Roman army, part of a wider network of nearby military farms at Camp Ground and Langdale Hale.

A “lack of genetic relationships” between the bodies suggests they were either in army service or slaves.

At least two of those found were born in Scotland or Ireland, and another in the Alps.

Dr Lisboa said “Knobb’s Farm has an exceptionally high proportion of decapitated bodies – 33% of those found – compared with burial grounds locally and across Roman Britain.”

Elsewhere, decapitated bodies make between 2.5% to 6% of burials.

Cambridge University’s archaeology unit excavated Knobb’s Farm between 2001 and 2010, ahead of gravel extraction by Tarmac Trading.

Analysis of finds has just been published.

Related Articles

Newly Discovered Two Fortress Settlements and a New Type of Open-Air Temple in Eastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye

26 March 2024

26 March 2024

Two fortress settlements and two new open-air temples were discovered during a survey in Tunceli province in the Eastern Anatolia...

Archaeologists Discover Rare Boundary Stone From the Tetrarchy Period of the Roman Empire Contains Two Unknown Place Names

21 January 2025

21 January 2025

In northern Galilee, excavations at Tel Avel Beit Ma’akha, about 1.2 miles south of Metula, have produced a remarkable find:...

The camel carvings in Saudi Arabia are 8000 years old!

15 September 2021

15 September 2021

Life-size animal reliefs found in Saudi Arabia were carved almost 8,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, when the desert...

At Göbeklitepe, believed to be the earliest known Mesolithic temple complex, grinding stones were discovered

26 October 2022

26 October 2022

A recent discovery at Göbeklitepe, the oldest known Mesolithic temple complex, has revealed grinding stones, new finds expected to shed...

1,800-Year-Old Sanctuary to Mithras discovered in Spain

8 February 2023

8 February 2023

Archaeologists excavating at Villa del Mitra in Cabra, Spain, have uncovered a sanctuary dedicated to the god Mithras, along with...

Ancient necropolis of stillborn babies and very young children found in Auxerre, France

8 June 2024

8 June 2024

A team from INRAP, France’s national archaeology and preservation agency, unearthed a necropolis dedicated to stillborn and very young children...

Hand disease known as Viking disease may have its origins in Neanderthal genes

14 June 2023

14 June 2023

A recent study in the Oxford University Press journal Molecular Biology and Evolution demonstrates that a condition known as Dupuytren’s...

Archaeologists Discover Clay Figurines from Early Iron Age in Ukraine

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have discovered clay figurines of young bulls from the Early Iron Age near the Metropolitan Chambers in the village...

Rare Piece Of Metal Armor Found At 17th-Century Fort In Maryland

1 March 2024

1 March 2024

A piece of body armor was unearthed during excavations at a 17th-century colonial fort in Maryland, a Mid-Atlantic state of...

40.000-Year-Old Mammoth Bones Discovered in a Wine Cellar in Austria

25 May 2024

25 May 2024

A winemaker has discovered mammoth bones up to 30,000 to 40,000 years old in a wine cellar in Lower Austria. ...

30 Graves Found in the Basilica-Planned Ancient City

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Kibyra ancient city is situated south of Turkey, located in the town Gölhisar in the southwestern part of Burdur Province,...

Ancient Ruins Hidden Under Thessaloniki Metro Revealed

15 January 2023

15 January 2023

The finds unearthed during the construction of local metro facilities in Thessaloniki, a Greek port city on the Thermaic Gulf...

Queen Kubaba: Some 4,500 years ago, a woman rose to power and reigned over one of the largest civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia

28 December 2023

28 December 2023

Is it possible to say who was the first queen in history? Given the size and diversity of human civilization,...

Medieval double grave discovered with majestic objects inside the circular ditch

22 August 2022

22 August 2022

An early medieval double grave was discovered in Kirchheim am Neckar Friedrichstrasse, southern Germany, during excavations supervised by the State...

1500-Year-Old Petroglyphs Found in Central Iran

13 April 2021

13 April 2021

Researchers have discovered 70 petroglyphs carved into the rock that they think is from the Sassanid era. The petroglyphs were...