Britain's cannibal vicitims seen for the first time in 4,500 years: Grisly remains reveal how dozens of people were killed, butchered and consumed in the Bronze Age
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The Bronze Age was a time of cultural and technological change in Britain. But it was also a time of cannibalism, according to a new study. Analysis of human remains dating back to 2500BC indicates that dozens of people were killed, butchered and consumed during a very violent incident.
![[A team of archaeologists, led by the University of Oxford, examined more than 3,000 human bones and bone fragments unearthed in Charterhouse Warren, a hamlet in Somerset]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/13/93034057-14181243-A_team_of_archaeologists_led_by_the_University_of_Oxford_examine-a-1_1733925202060.jpg)
And it calls into question the idea that Early Bronze Age Britain was relatively peaceful, experts said. A team of archaeologists, led by the University of Oxford, examined more than 3,000 human bones and bone fragments unearthed in Charterhouse Warren, a hamlet in Somerset.
![[The researchers said evidence of a violent death – with no indication of a fight – implies the victims were taken by surprise]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/11/10/93034055-14181243-The_researchers_said_evidence_of_a_violent_death_with_no_indicat-a-26_1733914738285.jpg)
They were first discovered in a 15m-deep shaft in the 1970s and represent at least 37 individuals - a mix of men, women and children. Unlike most contemporary burials, the skulls displayed evidence of a violent death from a blunt force trauma – for example being hit over the head with something hard.
Closer analysis of the bones revealed numerous cutmarks and perimortem fractures that were made around the time of death, suggesting they were intentionally butchered and may have been partly consumed. Analysis of human remains dating back to 2500BC indicates that dozens of people were killed, butchered and consumed during a very violent incident.
A team of archaeologists, led by the University of Oxford, examined more than 3,000 human bones and bone fragments unearthed in Charterhouse Warren, a hamlet in Somerset. While there have been hundreds of human skeletons found in Britain dating back to a similar time, direct evidence for violent conflict is rare.
