Posted on 08/05/2005 8:27:24 AM PDT by robowombat
Archaeologists Baffled by Headless Bodies Find
By Nick Foley, PA
Archaeologists have been left mystified by the discovery of 36 decapitated bodies, it was revealed today.
Experts from the York Archaeological Trust unearthed the skeletons of 49 young men and seven children at a Roman cemetery they discovered in The Mount area of the city.
But they were stunned to find that most of the men had had their heads chopped off, while another was bound with iron shackles.
Dr Patrick Ottaway, the trust’s head of field word, said he was left baffled by the find because Romans had no tradition of decapitations or shackling men.
“One theory we are working on is that the men’s heads were removed after death with a very sharp implement through the cervical vertebrae.
“After removal their skulls had been placed in the grave by their feet, legs or pelvis as part of a burial ritual.
“Romans also believed that the head was the seat of the soul and they may have cut off their heads to stop them haunting the living.”
He said the men could have been foreign soldiers serving under Emperor Septimuis Severus in 200AD who were burying their dead according to their local tradition.
Dr Ottaway said he would be liaising with archaeologists abroad to see whether burial rituals from Rhineland, where many of soldiers in the Army originated, or North Africa, where the emperor came from, fitted the York deaths.
But the most puzzling discovery was the man found shackled with two iron rings around his feet.
“We haven’t seen anything like this before in Britain. The shackles may have been put on as a punishment or to stop the dead escaping.
“York has quite a reputation for ghosts and Romans were terrified of them and their influence.”
Researchers will carry out tests on the skeletons in an attempt to find out more about the men and why they had been decapitated.
Archaeologists also discovered pottery at the cemetery, during a three-month excavation at the site, which is being redeveloped by building contractors.
The Trust had targeted the area because it lays alongside the main Roman road leading to York from Tadcaster. Romans forbid burials near settlements so most cemeteries were located alongside roads.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4175395
Victims of one of Mohammed's ancestors passing through the area?
The Romans might have simply not had a smithy available at the time of the shackled man's death and simply buried him "as is." The shackled man might have been a prisoner for some reason and not worth any more effort.
The headless men sound like something else completely. THAT is more of a mystery.
I'm SURE "British science" will solve it next week.
"Bush's Fault!"
The work of the primative Neanderorenthals?
GGG Ping!
The spawn of Ishmael didn't just rise up in 1922, when everyone enraged the Islamofascist terrorists.....
I thought all American natives were peace-loving nature lovers. This could only have been caused by Europeans I am sure. /sarcasim
OOPS...wrong thread for this comment! Sorry
I've seen a recent topic about this, but couldn't find it. Did find this though:
Burial with the Romans (New discoveries in the way Romans treated their dead).
British Archaeology Magazine | FR Post 3-24-03 | Alison Taylor
Posted on 03/25/2003 4:19:01 PM PST by vannrox
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/875504/posts
Burial with the Romans
British Archaeology magazine, March 2003 | March 2003 | Alison Taylor
Posted on 08/01/2004 7:15:21 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1183135/posts
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Easy... these are early liberals. Not a brain to be found anywhere.
Off with their heads!
This discovery is proof positive that the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland was a historical figure.
That'll leave a mark.
Obviously the so-called 'experts' never read the New Testament. It is shocking that someone who claims to study Roman history would never have looked at a Bible.
Heads on pikes?
The heads presumably are singing that old song, "I ain't got nobody".
Ping...
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