Direct evidence of a large Northern European Roman period martial event and postbattle corpse manipulation

Abstract

SignificanceHere we present direct archaeological evidence in the form of human remains of a large-scale battle in Northern Europe in the first century AD, in the wake of the northern expansion of the Roman Empire. The deposited population is estimated to 380 individuals. The relative absence of traces of healed sharp force trauma suggests that they had relatively little previous battle experience. Evidence of the systematic treatment of the human corpses, including stripping of bodies, disarticulation of bones, crushing of crania, and arrangement of body parts, points to a new form of postbattle activities, with implications for the interpretation of contemporary battlefields and later ritual traditions with regard to depositions of the spoils of war.

The pattern of human bone dissolution—A histological study ofIronAge warriors from aDanish wetland site

“…Archaeological excavations in Alken Enge, Denmark (553500 6212800 UTM, zone 32N), have exposed an extensive early Roman Iron Age mass deposition of human bones (dated to the first half of the first century; Holst et al, ; Figure ).…”

“…To date, 2,335 (mainly disarticulated) human bones have been excavated, and the large number of weapon cut marks and animal gnaw traces suggests that the bodies have been killed in battle, exposed on the soil surface, and subsequently gathered to be deposited on the shore and between two sand spits in a shallow lake (Holst et al, ; Mollerup, Tjelldén, Hertz, & Holst, ; Soe, Odgaard, Lykke‐Andersen, Kroon, & Kristiansen, ).…”

“…Upon later oxidation due to, that is, artificial lowering of the groundwater level or excavation of the bone, the framboidal pyrite crystals readily oxidise and dissolve the inner bone matrix (Turner-Walker, 1998). To date, 2,335 (mainly disarticulated) human bones have been excavated, and the large number of weapon cut marks and animal gnaw traces suggests that the bodies have been killed in battle, exposed on the soil surface, and subsequently gathered to be deposited on the shore and between two sand spits in a shallow lake (Holst et al, 2018;Mollerup, Tjelldén, Hertz, & Holst, 2016;Soe, Odgaard, Lykke-Andersen, Kroon, & Kristiansen, 2018).…”

‘Body-objects’ and personhood in the Iron and Viking Ages: processing, curating, and depositing skulls in domestic space

“…Alken Enge (DK), 1st century CE, spectacularly saw 380 individuals left on the battlefield for up to a year before their remains were deposited in a lake. Among intriguing body practices, crania are significantly underrepresented and present mostly as fragments, indicating cranial selection and potential crushing (Holst et al 2018). At Hå (NO), at minimum four neonate calvaria were deposited in a natural spring in the RP, likely in a single event (Sellevold 1987).…”

“…Finally, head-objects may have been transported to the place of deposition: some of the human remains deposited at Alken Enge were found bundled together, possibly deposited in organic containers that did not survive (Holst et al 2018). Subsequently, they were deliberately placed within specific contexts: lowered into a spring or well, placed in a pit, positioned beneath a threshold-stone, or sealed between successive floors.…”