Ancient Mass Graves of Soldiers, Babies Found in Italy [ Himera battled Carthage ]

National Geographic News ^ | Wednesday, December 17, 2008 | Maria Cristina Valsecchi

[SunkenCiv]

More than 10,000 graves containing ancient amphorae, "baby bottles," and the bodies of soldiers who fought the Carthaginians were found near the ancient Greek colony of Himera, in Italy, archaeologists announced recently... "Each [mass grave] contains from 15 to 25 skeletons. They were all young healthy men and they all died a violent death. Some of the skeletons have broken skulls and in some cases we found the tips of the arrows that killed them," Vassallo said. He thinks the human remains are from soldiers who died fighting the Carthaginians in a famous 480 B.C. battle described by Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus... Founded in 648 B.C. by Greek settlers, Himera was a rich seaport trading colony. The city was situated on the northern coast of Sicily, a few miles from the Phoenician outpost of Solunto... In 480 B.C. Carthage, or present-day Tunisia, sent an army against Himera. "Greeks and Carthaginians fought a bloody battle in the plain under the town walls, right on the burial ground," Vassallo said. "People from Himera won." In 409 B.C., Carthage waged a new war against Himera, conquered, and razed the town. "All the people were slaughtered or deported and the colony never rose again," Vassallo said.

[SunkenCiv]

Photo: Ancient Mass Graves of Soldiers, Babies Found in Italy -- Archaeologists have uncovered thousands of graves holding the remains of fifth-century BC soldiers near the ancient Greek colony of Himera, in Italy. Also included in the burials were arrowheads, amphorae, and infants with baby bottles-like vessels. Researchers think the adult skeletons are from soldiers who died fighting the Carthaginians in a famous 480 BC battle described by Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus. [Photograph courtesy Stefano Vassallo/Archaeological Department of the Cultural Superintendence of Palermo]

[SunkenCiv]

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[autumnraine]

Whoa! What a historical and anthropological find!

What I wouldn’t give to be there!

[kaehurowing]

Carthago delenda est.

[Loud Mime]

VDH type ping

[Little Bill]

If you compare these graves with those at Malmo, Sweden, they must be the winners.

[Sherman Logan]

He thinks the human remains are from soldiers who died fighting the Carthaginians in a famous 480 B.C. battle described by Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus.

That's like saying a mass grave of Athenian soldiers must be from Marathon. The Himerans (?) doubtless fought dozens or hundreds of battles which might have led to these burials. So the archaeologist automatically assumes the burials are from the only that is famous.

In 409 B.C., Carthage waged a new war against Himera, conquered, and razed the town. "All the people were slaughtered or deported and the colony never rose again," Vassallo said.

I guess "deported" is sort of accurate. Losers at the time who weren't killed were generally enslaved and sold.

Infant mortality was very high at the times," Vassallo said.

True. Of course this was to a considerable extent because parents intentionally killed up to 50% of their children. But it's still infant mortality. All ancient peoples except the Hebrews practiced infanticide. Writers at the time commented on the really weird practices of the Jews, the prime example being that they raised all their children.

[SunkenCiv]

Alive, right? ;’)

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[SunkenCiv]

I think he’s concluding that because there were but two known battles which had such a level of carnage, and in the second one mentioned, the dead might easily have gone unburied.

[Little Bill]

Not a stack of bones.

[GreyFriar]

dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones

[Towed_Jumper]

Great pic! If these had been dug up on Minnesota Al Franken would be counting their votes.

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. The is a very interesting find.

[ZULU]

“If these had been dug up on Minnesota Al Franken would be counting their votes.”

Beautiful!!

[SunkenCiv]

Hey, don’t give him ideas. ;’) I mean, hey, they are absent, so they should be able to vote absentee, and to deny them is to undermine democracy. ;’)

[Little Bill]

Don’t be facetious, if you noticed the bodies were laid out in a single line, one body deep. If this was battle field sanitation, a term from my youth, they would have been dumped in a hole to keep the smell down.

[SunkenCiv]

It was definitely a mass burial, could have been some plague, but the details in the story I think make clear that these were healthy people who got the ol’ one-two.

[Little Bill]

Not likely, a plague pit is a plague pit even in Greek times.