Archaeologists digging at the Neolithic settlement of Vrable, western Slovakia, have unearthed a mass grave containing the headless remains of about three dozen people. The site of Vráble is one of the largest Stone Age settlements in Central Europe excavated to date. Experts believe that the tomb’s occupants may have been killed during cult rituals!
The 50-hectare (123-acre) Vráble site dates from about 5250 to 4950 BC and has yielded interesting evidence of the Neolithic Age in Central Europe. But the mass grave is the most impressive discovery to date.
Disturbing discovery at the Neolithic Settlement of Vráble
The site includes three settlements where excavations and geophysical surveys have taken place over the past seven years. The work was carried out by a German-Slovak archaeological team and has so far revealed more than 300 longhouses. The joint team included experts from the Institute of Archeology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) and Albrechts Christian University in Kiel.
Longhouses were built at different stages of historical settlement, and archaeologists say an estimated 50-60 were in use at any given time, Slovak Spectator reported.
One of the three settlements in the final phase of occupation was fortified with at least one defensive ditch and a palisade. This particular settlement had six entrances within its defensive perimeter, and it was these entrances that created the huge, headless burial site of the Vráble Stone Age.
According to Archeology, Zuzana Hukelová of the Slovak Academy of Sciences stated that the skeletons were discovered in a ditch near one of these six entrances. Individual graves were previously discovered by the team in and around the ditch.
The excavation of the Vráble Neolithic tomb, filled with a jumble of headless skeletons, was recently unearthed in Vráble, Slovakia. (Ivan Cheben, Slovak Academy of Sciences / Slovak Audience)
The Vráble Stone Age tomb is littered with headless skeletons!
During excavations conducted in 2022, archaeologists found a mass grave in a long ditch near one of the six entrances to the Vráble Stone Age settlement. The tomb contained the remains of 35 individuals who experts concluded were likely victims of cult sacrifice. The bodies appeared to have been haphazardly thrown into the graves with the skeletons lying on their backs, sides, front, arms and legs spread out like frogs.
Men, women and children were buried in the grave but a large number of them appeared to have been teenagers and young adults. A child’s skull and lower jaw were the only head bones found, suggesting the heads may have been separated from the body.
The bones show signs of antemortem fracture (that is, at or near the time of death). In death wounds, there is no evidence of healing.
The tomb also contained part of a sled
Further investigations will tell us more. . .
Although human sacrifice is one possible explanation for the headless bodies in the mass grave, only further tests can clearly determine the cause or causes that led to the death. die. Tests will seek to discover whether the people in the tomb died separately or at the same time and whether they were victims of an epidemic or of cult rituals.
Experts will also examine whether there are any genetic links between individuals. Furthermore, they will explore how the heads were removed or whether they could have completely decomposed in the grave.
Experts hope that the tests will also provide further insights into the inhabitants of the Neolithic site. The Slovak Spectator quoted Matej Ruttkay, director of the Institute of Archeology, as saying: “Only then will we be able to answer some questions about the social classification of the [site’s] inhabitants, perhaps also about emerging social inequality under the conditions of early agricultural society, and may even reproduce the activities or causes of the collapse of this vast settlement.”
The Vráble Stone Age burial site is a remarkable source of evidence for Neolithic Central Europe. Some of Vráble’s finds are unique to this location. Ivan Cheben, head of archaeological research at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, said:
“During the final phase of operations, one of the areas was fortified with a moat with six entrances to the settlement, doubled by a fence. This was quite exceptional in Central Europe at the time. We also confirmed the presence of more than 300 longhouses through detailed geophysical surveys. Possibly 50 to 70 houses were occupied at the same time during individual phases of the settlement’s operations.”
The investigations at Vráble never ended. History enthusiasts can certainly look forward to more interesting Neolithic finds from the Vráble Stone Age settlement and site in western Slovakia.
