A spiral of skeletons, a bound woman and other ancient burials that seem strange

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

It just so happened in history that after the death of a person, a funeral rite was expected. How exactly to bury a person - in a stone tomb, a wooden coffin or burned at the stake - was determined by social, religious and cultural norms. Therefore, the ancient burials discovered by modern archaeologists are sometimes so strange that they simply drive scientists into a dead end.

1. The grave of babies

In Pachacamac (near present-day Lima, Peru), a grave was discovered containing approximately 80 people, buried around AD 1000. They belonged to the Ichma people, which preceded the Incas. Half of the remains belonged to adults, who were placed in embryonic positions. Heads carved from wood or made of clay were laid on the corpses, wrapped in linen (mostly decomposed during this time). The other half of the deceased were babies, who were laid in a circle around the adults.

Perhaps the babies were sacrificed. They were all buried at the same time, but this is just a theory. A large number of adults have had serious illnesses such as cancer or syphilis. Skeletons of animals (guinea pigs, dogs, alpacas or llamas) were also found, which were sacrificed and placed in a tomb.

2. Spiral of skeletons

In present-day Tlalpan, Mexico, archaeologists have discovered a 2,400-year-old burial site containing 10 skeletons arranged in a spiral. Each corpse was laid on its side, with the legs pointing to the center of the circle formed by the bodies. His hands were intertwined with the hands of people lying on either side. Each skeleton was partially stacked on top of the other in a slightly different way. For example, the head of one person was placed on the chest of another.

The deceased were of completely different ages: from infant and child to old people. Among the adults, two women and one man were identified. Two skeletons had skulls that were definitely artificially altered. Some also had their teeth modified, which was common practice at the time. The cause of death of these people is still unknown.

3. Standing burial

A 7,000-year-old male skeleton was discovered in a Mesolithic cemetery north of present-day Berlin. In addition to the fact that this was a Mesolithic burial, which are already rare, the most unusual thing was that this man was buried standing. He was originally buried on his knees, so his upper body partially decomposed before the corpse was reburied while standing. The man was buried with flint and bone tools, so he was most likely a hunter-gatherer. Similar burials have also been found in a cemetery known as Oleniy Ostrov in Karelia, Russia. In a large cemetery, four people were found, who were also buried standing, at about the same time.

4. Sacrificial children

In Derbyshire, England, a mass grave was discovered containing 300 Viking army soldiers. Although this mass grave was not unusual, another grave was found next to it, in which four people were buried, ranging in age from 8 to 18 years. The children were placed back to back with a sheep's jaw resting at their feet. Their grave was dated to about the same time as the Viking burial, with at least two of the children killed from injuries. Their placement and potential cause of death led researchers to believe that the children may have been sacrificed to be buried alongside the fallen warriors. It may have been part of a ritual for children to accompany dead soldiers into the afterlife.

5. Man killed by spears

In an Iron Age burial (present-day Pocklington, England), 75 burial chambers (mounds) were found with the remains of more than 160 people. In one of these burials lay a teenager 18-22 years old, who was buried with his sword 2500 years ago. A distinctive part of his burial is that after the young man was placed in the grave, he was stabbed with five spears. Researchers believe that this man may have been a high-ranking warrior, and during such a ritual they wanted to free his spirit.

6. Bound woman

In modern Plovdiv, Bulgaria, during the excavations of the ancient Thracian and Roman fortress Nebete Tepe, a medieval grave of a woman of the 13th - 14th centuries was found. The grave differed from other burials found at this site in that the woman was placed face down in it and her hands were tied behind her back. Although burials with people face down were found all over the world, it was usually not associated with the dead. The archaeologists who excavated the grave have never seen such a burial in the area. They believe that this may have been a punishment for some kind of criminal activity.

7. "The Great Pit of Death"

During the excavations of Ur in the early 1900s, six graves without tombs were discovered, which were called "death pits." The most impressive of these is the Great Pit of Ur's Death, a burial in which the remains of 6 men and 68 women were found. The men were laid down near the entrance, they were wearing helmets and with weapons in their hands, as if guarding the pit. Most of the women were neatly arranged in four rows along the northwest corner of the pit.

Two groups of six women were also stowed in rows along the other two edges. All women were dressed in expensive clothes with headdresses made of gold, silver and lapis lazuli. One of the women had a headdress and jewelry that was much more extravagant than the others. It is believed that the dead woman was a high-ranking person, and the rest were sacrificed to travel with her to the afterlife.

Whether this was a voluntary or a forced victim is unknown. Two skeletons, one man and one woman, had skull fractures. None of the others had visible injuries. Researchers believe the victims consumed poison.

8. Mass graves of babies

Mass graves in which babies are buried are unusual, but several similar ones have already been discovered. In Ashkelon, Israel, bones of more than 100 babies were found in the sewers of Roman times. They did not show any signs of illness or deformity, and they may have been killed as some form of birth control. A similar burial, with the remains of 97 babies, was found in a Roman villa in Hambland, England.

Scientists speculated that these were the remains of babies born in a brothel, which were thus unwanted. In addition, they may have been stillborn babies. Another mass grave was found in a well in Athens, containing remains dating back to 165 BC. - 150 BC In this place there were 450 skeletons of babies, 150 skeletons of dogs and 1 adult with serious physical deformities. Most babies were less than a week old. One third died from bacterial meningitis, and the rest died from unknown causes. There was no evidence that their deaths were unnatural.

9. Many skulls

On the island of Efate in Vanuatu, a 3,000-year-old cemetery has been excavated with 50 exhumed skeletons. Unusually, each skeleton was missing its skull. It was a common practice for the Lapita people who lived on the island at the time to dig up a dead body after the flesh had rotted and remove the head. The head was then placed in a shrine or elsewhere to honor the deceased. All skeletons were stacked in the same direction, with the exception of four, which were facing south. After examination of these four remains, it turned out that they were not residents of the island, unlike the others buried there.

10. Composite mummies

A study conducted on ancient burial sites in the British Isles showed that between 2200 BC. to 700 BC NS. 16 mummies were created here. Since the climate in this part of the world is cold and humid, which is not very good for mummification, it is believed that they were created by smoking over fire or deliberately burying in peat bogs. Oddly enough, some of these mummies are made from multiple people.

And in continuation of the topic more 10 strange death and funeral rituals from around the world.