The Bronze Age site of Charterhouse Warrenlocated in Somerset, in the southwest of England, is not notable for the number of bones it housed, nor the tools or craftsmanship unearthed there. No. If it has fascinated (and in a certain way frozen) scientists even beyond the United Kingdom, it is because it is part of the very small list of archaeological deposits capable of changing the image we have of our ancestors. in words of the researchers who have been in charge of examining its remains, reveals a “dark side” of Prehistory.
In fact they talk already from the “greatest example of interpersonal violence in British prehistory”, a savage episode of slaughter, cannibalism and dehumanization surrounded by many unknowns.
A discovery from 50 years ago. We have known about the Charterhouse Warren site in Somerset County for quite some time. In the 70s Archaeologists have already explored the 15-meter-deep natural chasm in which it is located, a space where they found a peculiar mass of bones from at least 37 different people—including men, women and children—as well as animal remains.
Half a century has passed since then but it has been now, thanks to a study directed by the University of Oxford, when we finally have keys to better understand what all those bones were doing hidden there.
And it is terrifying. Surprising and terrifying.
What the bones tell us. That they belonged to at least 37 different people and were found mixed with animal fragments tells us only part of what happened at Charterbouse Warren. 4,000 years ago. And probably not the most important. What is really fascinating is in the details of those 3,000 bone remains dated to the early phase of the Bronze Ageamong the years 3,000 and 2,100 BC In them, archaeologists have identified clues that tell us about violence and cannibalism.
The skulls show signs of traumatic deaths, with blows, and the analysis led by the University of Oxford has identified “perimortem cut and fracture marks“ which tell us that the bones were manipulated around the time of the victim’s death. What does that mean for researchers? That most likely someone was in charge of dismembering the bodies, perhaps even to devour them.
“The greatest example of violence”. As if that revelation were not enough, it is completed with another piece of information that is just as or even more terrifying: good part of the bones in the chasm appear to be those of children, which leads experts to think that those who committed the carnage intended to exterminate an entire community, from the adults to the youngest members. Hence they speak of the “greatest example of interpersonal violence in British prehistory.”
“At least 37 individuals from Early Bronze Age England were killed, butchered and probably consumed before being thrown into a 15-metre pit,” slide from Oxford. The conclusions of the research, in which researchers from several European institutions have participated, including the University of Valladolid, just published in Antiquity.
Why is it important? From what the bones tell us. In Britain, archaeologists have managed to recover hundreds of human skeletons dating between 2500 and 1500 BC. What has not been found as frequently until now is “direct evidence” of a conflict with the level of violence suggested by the remains removed. from the depths of the Somerset chasm. And not just because of the signs of injuries. Archaeologists suspect that the at least 37 victims lost their lives in “a single event” that occurred about 4,000 years ago, between 2210 and 2010 BC
“We have actually found more evidence of injuries in skeletons dating from the Neolithic (10,000 BC-2,200 BC) in Britain than from the Bronze Age, so Chartehouse Warren stands out as very unusual,” comments Rick Schultingfrom the School of Archeology at the University of Oxford and lead author of the research. “It paints a significantly darker picture than many would have expected.”
“One of those rare sites”. Schulting goes further and emphasizes that if Charterhouse Warren stands out for anything, it is for expanding and in some ways enriching our understanding of history. Even if it is to add a tragic episode, unedifying and marked by violence. “It’s one of those rare archaeological sites that challenges the way we think about the past.”
“It is a stark reminder that prehistoric humans could match more recent atrocities and sheds light on a dark side of human behavior —reflect the Oxford University professor. “The fact that it is unlikely to have been an isolated event makes it even more important.”
It matters when, where… And what matters above all is why, which is one of the unknowns that experts are now asking. What could have led to such a massacre? And why did archaeologists end up finding all those bones at the bottom of a 15-meter-deep chasm, mixed with animal remains?
And above all, why this apparent exercise in anthropophagy? After all, archaeologists had already found a case of cannibalism in the Paleolithic site of the Gough’s cavenot far from there; but in that case everything indicates that it responded to a funerary ritual. In Chartehouse Warren the injuries, blows and traumas tell us about something else, probably a massacre, a carnage between enemies.
Inhuman, in the most literal sense. “Were they killed for food? It’s unlikely. An abundance of cattle bones were found mixed with human bones, suggesting that the people of Charterhouse Warren had enough to eat without resorting to cannibalism,” they reflect the experts. His interpretation is very different. In his opinion, it is not unreasonable to think that by eating the bodies and mixing their bones with those of animals, the murderers seek to “dehumanize” their victims.
But what was the reason? That is the great unknown. The question that continues to arise and for which researchers can only formulate a few more or less plausible hypotheses. To begin with, archaeologists have ruled out unlikely options. Competition for resources is one of them. Just like the weather. There is also no evidence to suggest an ethnic conflict, problems in the coexistence of communities with different lineages.
Once all these answers have been discarded, another one gains strength: the social factor. Quarrels, perhaps. A robbery. An insult. A clash that strained relations and ended up leading to an episode of unusual violence. “Ultimately, the findings paint a portrait of a prehistoric people for whom perceived slights and cycles of revenge could result in disproportionately violent actions,” clarify from Oxford.
And to top off the picture: plague. The Charterhouse Warren site would not need more than what has been discussed so far to fascinate historians, but the truth is that it had another surprise in store, one that British researchers have already echoed. last year: among the bones they found traces of plague (Yersinia pestis), a case from 4,000 years ago that makes it the oldest documented in Britain.
“The discovery of two plague-carrying individuals at Charterhouse Warren came as a complete surprise,” recognized Schulting in May of last year. The traces were located in the teeth of two children and raises a fascinating question: Could the disease fuel the tensions that led to the explosion of violence? Difficult to answer, although as the teacher assumes the question will continue to arise. “We are not yet sure if and how this is related to the violence at the site.”
Images | Schulting et al. Antiquity, 2024 (University of Oxford)
In techopiniones | More than 3,000 years ago Europe was already hosting battles involving several regions. We know it thanks to some arrows