Students excavate skeletons at the site. Till Kuhl/Kiel University

Researchers have discovered dozens of ancient human skeletons, with nearly all of their heads severed, in a ditch in central Europe — a find they acknowledge "presents a terrifying sight at first glance." But the headless remains dating back 7,000 years actually provide new insights into farming communities who resided in that region at the time, according to an announcement from Germany's Kiel University.

The university and the Slovanian Academy of Sciencies jointly backed a decadeslong research endeavor that brought archaeologists to the site in Vráble, a small Slovakian town, where the skeletons were unearthed. Those involved in the project have now also released a study on their findings, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society.

Although the 78 skeletons found piled atop one another in Vráble could suggest some kind of massacre took place, the researchers said their analyses so far indicate they were deliberately interred that way, potentially as part of a Neolithic cultural tradition.

Martin Furholt, a professor at Kiel University and the study's lead author, said in a statement that the burials "appear unusual." Based on the evidence his team has gathered so far, they may reflect the "social practices" of ancient settlers, who inhabited the area around Vráble from approximately 5250 to 4950 B.C.E., according to the university.

Researchers began to investigate the site in 2012, hoping to learn more about its ties to an important period in European history where both pottery and agriculture boomed. The excavation site now encompasses what they believe were once the locations of 300 houses in three different neighborhoods during the Neolithic era, one of which was surrounded by the ditch where the skeletal remains were found.

The skeletons were discovered in seemingly random positions, both on top of and beside one another, and all but one were found headless. Researchers said just one skeleton of a child was uncovered with its skull intact.

They also believe the people to whom the remains once belonged were buried shortly after their deaths. It is not clear what happened to the heads, although researchers hypothesized that they could have been kept somewhere separate from the burial site.

"The features clearly exhibit an intentional manipulation of the bodies," said Katharina Fuchs, a co-author of the study also from Kiel University, in a statement.

But Fucjhs said evidence does not suggest that violent decapitations took place. Instead, the skulls appeared to be removed skillfully from the bodies after death. That sets these findings apart from other instances where skeletal remains of prehistoric societies were found to be physically manipulated in similar ways.

In comparable examples, they said such burial patterns were interpreted as signs of conflict or crisis, which they do not believe played a role here.

"The deposition of bodies and body parts may have been part of more complex, meaningful and recurring practices," said Nils-Müller-Scheesel, another co-author of the study, while Furholt added: "We must assume that these practices were embedded in completely different contexts of meaning than those of modern societies. This is what makes an interpretation of them so challenging."

Source