Excavation of execution sites in Sweden has shed light on the realities of capital punishment in the country. Caroline Arcini and Emma Karlsson explain what can be revealed by examining the skeletons of those condemned to death and the sites where their sentences were carried out.
At its height, the Roman Empire grew to an area of around two million square miles, stretching from Mesopotamia in the east to Lusitania (modern-day Portugal) in the west – a distance of some 4,000 miles. But for all our…
Almost 20 years ago, York Archaeological Trust were excavating part of a Roman cemetery when they uncovered dozens of decapitated skeletons. Were these the remains of gladiators? An exhibition at Cirencester’s Corinium Museum sets out the evidence, as Carly Hilts reports.
Why did collecting human heads as trophies become so widespread along the south coast of Peru, and who were they being taken from? Lidio M Valdez examines the extraordinary and chilling implications of the archaeology of the Acari valley.
Around ten percent of the excavated individuals were missing skulls, with many clearly decapitations, evidenced by visible cut marks and placement of the head between the legs.
Of the 52 human remains recovered from the three cemeteries, 17 of the bodies had been decapitated and 13 were prone, with six burials involving both practices.
Bog bodies are particularly potent archaeological discoveries, representing the recognisable faces of people from the past. Why were so many of these figures consigned to watery graves during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and what are scientific advances adding to our understanding of these enigmatic individuals? Current Archaeology's Carly Hilts explores thought-provoking recent research by Melanie Giles.
Iberian Iron Age massacre The Iron Age settlement of La Hoya in the Ebro River Valley in Spain was discovered in 1935 and excavated between 1973 and 1990. It was known then that a violent attack must have taken place,…