Headless Vikings The “Most exciting & Disturbing” Archaeological Discoveries in Britain In Recent Years

Archeologists made a surprising finding in Dorset, England in June 2009, in the coastal town of Weymouth. During excavations in preparation for the planned Weymouth Relief Route, archaeologists discovered a mass grave containing 54 dismembered skeletons and 51 skulls in a pile within a disused Roman quarry.

This odd discovery prompted us to ask who these people were and why they were so tragically murdered. Through scientific testing and analysis, archaeologists concluded that the remains belonged to Scandinavian Vikings.

It is particularly shocking the sheer scale of this discovery, “as any mass grave is relatively uncommon, but to find one on this scale, from this period of history, is extremely unusual,” said David Score of Oxford Archaeology

Although exact dating has not been confirmed, it is believed that the remains are those of individuals who lived sometime during the early Middle Ages, between the 5 th and 10 th centuries.

The deaths likely occurred during, and as a result of, the conflict between the Anglo-Saxons and Viking invaders. All of the remains are from males mostly aged from their late teens to 25 years old, with a few being somewhat older.

None of the remains show any sign of battle wounds, beyond wounds inflicted during the execution, so it is likely that these men were captives rather than members of the military. No clothing or other remnants were found within the pit, leading to speculation that the men were naked when they were executed.  

The men appear to have been killed all at the same time, and the executions appear to have been carried out hastily and rather chaotically. Some of the individuals showed multiple blows and deep cuts to the vertebrae, jawbones, and skulls.

Damage to the hand and wrist bones indicates that some of them may have braced against the execution with their hands.  When the remains were discovered, the skulls, leg bones, and rib bones were arranged into separate piles. It appeared that the pit had not been dug specifically for this purpose and that it just happened to be a convenient spot to dump the bodies.

One interesting detail is that there were three fewer skulls than the number of skeletons within the pit. It is believed that three of the heads may have been kept as souvenirs or placed on stakes. They may have been high-ranking individuals.

There have been multiple theories as to who these men were and why they were executed. As a group, they appear to have been healthy and robust individuals. They were all of the fighting age, and they were far from home when executed.

Scientific isotope testing conducted on the men’s teeth indicates that they were of very diverse origins, and likely from Scandinavia.  Kim Siddorn, author of Viking Weapons and Warfare, has speculated “[t]hey had left their ship, walked inland, ran into an unusually well-organized body of Saxons, and were probably forced to surrender.”

This is corroborated by the fact that the location of their deaths was a central location in conflicts between native Saxons and invading Vikings.

It is also speculated that the executions may have taken place in front of an audience, as some sort of display of power, authority, and triumph. In a documentary by National Geographic, called Viking Apocalypse, Dr. Britt Baillie suggested a link between these executions and the St. Brice’s Day massacre, or that those executed were actually defectors or traitors killed by their own men.

A gruesome find such as this brings forth many questions. It is hoped that further archaeological discoveries in the area may help provide answers to what occurred on that fateful day.

Couple find £5,000,000 in one of biggest ever treasure hoards

In an area in Somerset, in the West of England, a pair of metal detectorists found their existence when they uncovered a hoard of ancient coins worth about 6 million dollars.

The historical discovery, which has been deemed to be one of the greatest hidden treasures in the UK, is to be revealed in the British Museum.

The 2,571 Anglo-Saxon and Norman coins were unearthed by Adam Staples ‘ and Lisa Grace Treasure hunters when they searched farmland with their trusty metal detectors. The couples have described the hoard as “stunning” and “absolutely mind-blowing” in an interview with Treasure Hunting Magazine.

They reported their find to the authorities as required by UK law, and the coins were soon sent to the British Museum for evaluation.

The British Museum has been assessing the find for the past seven months and is due to reveal more information about the coins to the public next week.

A spokesperson for the institution confirmed to the Daily Mail that the “large hoard” was handed over as possible treasure and that it appears to be “an important discovery.”

Under the UK’s 1996 Treasure Act, if a find is officially declared treasure, it must first be offered for sale to a museum at a price set by the British Museum’s Treasure Valuation Committee. If no museum can raise the money to acquire the coins, they can then be offered for sale at auction.

The owner of the land where the coins were found is entitled to half of the proceeds. The metal detectorists are keeping the exact location of their discovery under wraps, although the trove is called the Chew Valley Hoard after an area in North Somerset.

A coin expert at the London auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb has valued the coins at around £5 million ($6 million).

They include mint-condition silver King Harold II pennies, coins from the reign of William the Conqueror, which could be worth as much as £5,000 ($6,000) each, as well as pieces minted by previously-unknown moneyers.

The King Harold II coins are particularly rare due to his short reign. The last Anglo-Saxon king was on the throne for just nine months before he died during the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The expert said that the hoard may prove too pricey for museums, which might have to launch an appeal for sponsors to raise funds to acquire them.

The coins would have belonged to a wealthy person who probably buried them for safekeeping at some point after the Norman Invasion of 1066 and probably before 1072.

The biggest collection of buried treasure ever discovered in the UK was the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, but this latest find could worth $1 million more, and have as great or even more historic value.

Here’s A 2,000-year-old Ancient Roman Face Cream

The oldest face cream in the world was discovered by archaeologists who had excavated a Roman temple on the banks of London’s River Thames, with the finger prints of their last person 2,000 years ago.

The closely wrapped cylindrical tin, measuring 6 cm by 5 cm, was opened at the London Museum to reveal a pungent-smelling white cream.

“It looks like an ointment because there are finger prints in the lid. Someone who uses it last has applied it to something with their fingertips and has used the lid as a dish to take the ointment out,” museum curator Liz Barham said as she opened the box.

The superbly made canister, now on display at the museum, was made almost entirely of tin, a precious metal at that time. Perhaps a beauty treatment for a fashionable Roman lady or even a face paint used in temple ritual, the cream is currently undergoing scientific analysis.

“We don’t yet know whether the cream was medicinal, cosmetic or entirely ritualistic.

We’re lucky in London to have a marshy site where the contents of this completely sealed box must have been preserved very quickly – the metal is hardly corroded at all,” said Nansi Rosenberg, a senior archaeological consultant on the project.

“This is an extraordinary discovery,” Federico Nappo, an expert on ancient Roman cosmetics of Pompeii. “It is likely that the cream contains animal fats. We know that the Romans used donkey’s milk as a treatment for the skin. However, it should not be very difficult to find out the cream’s composition.”

The pot, which appears to have been deliberately hidden, was found at the bottom of a sealed ditch in Southwark, about two miles south of central London.

Placed at the point where three roads meet near the river crossing – Watling St from Dover, Stane St from Chichester and the bridgehead road over the Thames – the site contains the foundations of two Roman-Celtic temples, a guest house, an outdoor area suitable for mass worship, plinths for statues and a stone pillar.

The complex, which last year revealed a stone tablet with the earliest known inscription bearing the Roman name of London, dates to around the mid-2nd century. It is the first religious complex to be found in the capital, rare evidence of organized religion in London 2,000 years ago.

“The analysis and interpretation of the finds have only just begun, and I’ve no doubt there are further discoveries to be made as we piece together the jigsaw puzzle we’ve excavated,” Rosenberg said. “But it already alters our whole perception – Southwark was a major religious focus of the Roman capital.”

Since excavation work was completed, the site will now become a residential development housing 521 apartments.

1,800-year-old Roman penis carvings discovered near Hadrian’s Wall

Hadrian’s Wall was a barrier constructed by the Romans to protect them from enemy hordes of barbarians. What remains of the structure is millennia old, and it remains a testament to its structural integrity to this day.

Repairs were often required, of course, for which loyal soldiers dutifully lugged sandstone materials around and patched up areas threatening to crumble. When these Romans got bored enough, however, it seems they left their mark in more ways than one.

Newcastle University and Historic England archaeologists have partnered with each other to record the newly discovered inscriptions — including caricatures, phrases, and even penis rendering, Historic England reported.

Colloquially known as “The Written Rock of Gelt,” researchers have learned a lot by descending down the Thirty-foot quarry in Cumbria, as the sandstone’s illustrative markings explore the military mindset involved in these repair works and how they passed the time.

One inscription, “APRO ET MAXIMO CONSVLIBVS OFICINA MERCATI,” dates the carving back to 207 AD when Hadrian’s Wall underwent extensive repairs and renewals under the consulate of Aper and Maximus.

The phallus — used as a symbol of good luck by the Romans of the time — is only one of many carvings still being found. “The Written Rock of Gelt” was previously thought to consist of 9 Roman inscriptions, and while only 6 of them are currently legible, more are expected to be found.

The insight provided by this historical piece of stone also points to the army’s personal feelings about their superior, with the caricature of an officer presumably in charge of repairs making up one of the wall’s carvings.

“These inscriptions are probably the most important on the Wall frontier of Hadrian at Gelt Forest,” said Mike Collins, Historic England’s Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Hadrian’s Wall.

“They provide insight into the organization of the vast construction project that Hadrian’s Wall was, as well as some very human and personal touches, such as the caricatures of their commanding officer inscribed by one group of soldiers.”

These discoveries are particularly exciting to those at the site because access to view these carvings was essentially shut down in the 1980s after the established path collapsed into a gorge of the adjacent Gelt River.

Unfortunately, the wall has been exposed to a great deal of water erosion since then — which makes recording its carvings all the more important.

“These inscriptions are highly vulnerable to further gradual decay,” said Ian Haynes, Newcastle University professor of archaeology.

“This is a great opportunity to record them in 2019, using the best modern technology to protect their ability to study them in the future.”

Practically speaking, this means using ropes to descend into the quarry — and using laser scanning technology to record inscriptions as much as possible in detail.

These scans are then processed for further study by computers into digital, three – dimensional models. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this historic venture is that, for the first time in nearly 40 years, the public will be able to see these carvings closely, albeit digitally.

Anglo-Saxon Cemetery Excavated in the East of England

BBC News reports that an Anglo-Saxon cemetery that may date to the sixth century A.D has been found at a site slated for residential development in the East of England, within the border of the Kingdom of the East Angles.

Brooches, pottery, small iron knives, wrist clasps, amber and glass beads, and silver pennies were uncovered among the more than 200 burials.

The grave included the bones of men , women and children and objects including brooches, small iron knives and silver pennies. Suffolk’s Archaeological Service said studies would help establish the graveyard’s links to other local sites

A spokesman said the site “lies within the Kingdom of the East Angles, made famous by the royal burial ground at nearby Sutton Hoo”.

Sutton Hoo, discovered in 1939, included two cemeteries from the 6th to 7th centuries and a ship burial full of treasures believed to be the final resting place of King Raedwald.

Many of the skeletons are only visible as “sand-silhouettes”, a delicate form of preservation.

The site appears to contain several generations of a small farming community and the county council’s archaeological service said the excavation of such cemeteries in their entirety was rare in England, which made it “nationally significant”.

“It is important we oversee and record this work so that we can understand the community buried here and its connections to other finds in Oulton and the nearby settlements and cemeteries at Carlton Colville and Flixton,” said the spokesman.

Andrew Peachey, of Archaeological Solutions Ltd, which carried out the excavations, said the remains of 17 cremations and 191 burials were “painstakingly excavated”.

“Due to the highly acidic soil the skeletons had mostly vanished and were luckily preserved as fragile shapes and shadows in the sand,” he said.

Mr Peachey added many of the artefacts were so fragile they had “to be block-lifted for micro-excavation in the labs at Norfolk Museum Service”.

The remains have now been fully excavated ahead of the Persimmon Homes Anglia housing development.

They will undergo specialist analysis and eventually go on public display.

Treasure Hunter discovers £200,000 worth of ancient coins in the farmer’s field

A hobbyist with a metal detector on a farm told us he had discovered a once-in-a-lifetime cache of Roman silver coins worth 2,000 years old silver Roman coins – worth up to £200,000 ($267,000).

During the Roman period, Some of the metal discs were minted. General Mark Antony was associated with his lover Cleopatra in Egypt. Experts agree that a discovery of this scale and range is very unusual.

The 35-year-old fishing man Mike Smale is shocked by his discovery of an unspoiled Coin after another coin that dates back to 32BC and can go up for £ 900 ($12,000). The coins will be handed over to the coroner for valuation and then likely sold to a museum, with the profits split between the farmer and Mr Smale.

Mr Smale, 35, found the hoard of 600 rare ancient coins in a farmer’s field in Bridport while hunting with friends from the Southern Detectorists club. 

Father-of-one Mr Smale, a fisherman from Plymouth, Devon, said: ‘It was incredible, a true once-in-a-lifetime find.

‘I had a good idea about what it was – I had already found one or two Roman denarii that morning. 

‘It’s a great find, my biggest one, but I shan’t be giving it up. It’s great fun and I’m sticking with it’, he said. 

The astonishing find was made at an undisclosed farmland location in Bridport at the detectorists annual event, attended by 300 people.  When I found it everyone came over to have a look and find out what it was’, said Mr Smale. 

‘It’s impossible to say what it’s worth, it all depends on too many factors.. How rare they are, what condition they are in, things like that.

‘But it is a substantial find, and whatever I do get I’m going to split with the guys I went up there with.’ 

Just a few hours in, Mr Smale’s detector started beeping manically and he quickly discovered a few coins, before he called over the officials who sectioned off the area.  They believe it was a pot of coins which had been hit by a plough and spread across the area. The event was organised by Sean MacDonald, 47, who admits he would have paid ‘good money’ just to witness the find.

He added: ‘Bridport is a cracking area anyway, it’s very rich in history, but a find like this is unprecedented.

‘I’ve never seen a hoard of this size before. We found one in Somerset last year but there were just 180, and they weren’t of the same calibre.’

Mr MacDonald said he was elated he was shaking when he saw the find. The archaeologists excavating it couldn’t believe what they were seeing because these coins are so rare’, said Mr MacDonald. 

‘I personally think a find of this size and variety will never be found again.’

An expert who has examined photos of the coins said some feature Gods, and were issued by the Roman Republic in the centuries before the birth of Christ.

‘Others, which feature a distinctive galley – a type of Roman vessel – were minted by Mark Antony while he was allied with his lover Cleopatra in Egypt, between the Autumn of 32 BC to the Spring of 31’, said Dominic Chorney of A.H. Baldwin & Sons.

These coins each celebrated the various legions under his command, Mr Chorney explained. They would have circulated widely in the Roman Empire and travelled a long way.  

‘Republican coins and those of Antony were issued before the Roman Invasion of Britain in AD 43, and would have drifted over in the pockets of Roman soldiers and citizens alike’, said Mr Chorney. Other coins were issued by emperors who ruled during the first century AD. 

‘One I can see in the photograph was struck for the ill-fated emperor Otho, who only ruled for three months in (January to April AD 69), during the civil wars which followed the assassination of the notorious emperor Nero’, said Mr Chorney. 

‘Coin finds such as this are fascinating, and are incredibly important in shedding light on the history of Roman Britain’, he said. 

Archaeologists Found 12th Century Medieval Castle in England

The greatest archeological and historical discoveries are often found in the most unlikely of places. This was the case in December, when construction laborers were left in awe while renovating a men’s prison in Gloucester, England.

Back around the year 1110, the rulers of Gloucester built an impressive castle ”similar to the Tower of London,” It had 3 chapels, 2 drawbridges, and walls that were a solid 12 feet wide. 

During the 15th century reign of Richard III (the hunchback ruler with a bad reputation who was recently found buried under a parking lot), the castle became a country jail.

For the next 200 years or so, it served as a makeshift lockup until, in 1787, it was knocked down to make way for a dedicated Jail. This prison, which closed in 2013 after many updates to the buildings, is now in the process of being renovated.

When the old basketball court was dug up, an archaeological group found a wall from the original castle just two feet beneath the ground. It’s not clear yet what this discovery means for the future of the site.

It was slated for redevelopment of some sort, but as one local planner told the Gloucester Citizen, “you can not just ignore that there is a castle there.”

Intending to tear down and replace the old facility, the team was forced to halt the project when they unearthed pieces of near ancient history. So just what, exactly, was down there? Would you believe it was a medieval castle?

They believe the castle was built between 1110 and 1120, and “was a large structure, with the keep, which we have now located in our work, an inner bailey and stable.

The keep was surrounded by a series of concentric defences which comprised curtain walls and ditches, with the drawbridge and gatehouse lying outside the current site toward the north.”

The keep is believed to have been 30 metres in length and 20 metres wide, and had walls as thick as 12 feet. Neil Holbrook, chief executive of Cotswold Archaeology, told the Western Press Daily, “I am surprised by what we Discovered.

I knew there was a castle however I had expected more of it to have been destroyed.” He added the size and design would have been similar to the Tower of London.

“It would have been a powerful symbol of Norman architecture engineering,” he said. “As you came to Gloucester you would have seen the cathedral and the castle, which is representative of how important the city was in Norman Britain.” 

The archaeologists have so far discovered nearly 900 objects, including medieval pottery and a 6-sided die made of bone. It was believed that the castle had been destroyed in the eighteenth century when a prison was built on the site, however, it seems that the gaol was built over the medieval structure.

 The jail was in use until 2013 and is set for redevelopment. News of the discovery is leading to calls that the site is protected. Paul James, Leader of Gloucester City Council explained to the Gloucester Citizen, “Whatever is done on-site needs to be sensitive to the heritage of both the castle and the listed buildings there.

We are blessed that we have a designer that cares about the heritage of the site. Having glass flooring above it, allowing visitors to see through might be a possibility. The most important matter is to preserve it well, the walls have been here for many years and we want them here for hundreds more.”

Roman Settlement Unearthed in Eastern England

Excavation ahead of road construction in the East Midlands has uncovered human remains, animal bones, roof tiles, an iron sickle, a copper spoon handle, brooches, stone walls, a pottery kiln, and other furnaces and ovens dated to the second or third centuries A.D., according to a Lincolnshire Live report.

Some 400 Roman coins were also recovered. One of the buildings unearthed at the site was built into a hillside. The remains of several adults, including at least eight new-born babies who died in the second or third centuries AD, were found at the site near Grantham.

Overall, thousands of long-forgotten artifacts have been unearthed as part of ongoing works on the Grantham Southern Relief Road.

Catherine Edwards, project manager for AOC Archaeology – the firm contracted to research the site’s archaeology – said: “Although the finds are yet to be looked at by specialists, we believe the oldest activity dates back to the Romano-British period, somewhere between 100 and 410 AD.

“The first step of our investigation was to carefully strip the site’s topsoil. Once the material was moved off-site, we were able to move in and start our investigations.

“First, we used a range of heavy tools, like shovels, spades, picks and barrows, to expose features and artefacts.

“We then used lighter hand tools, like trowels and hand brushes, to excavate and clean what we’d uncovered.

“A full written record of each feature or layer is then produced, describing its function, form and relationships with other features.

“Each discovery is also photographed, and GPS equipment is used to locate each one accurately on a plan.

“This allows us to ‘recreate’ the site and tell its story.”

The three biggest finds

According to Phil Weston, senior archaeological consultant at WSP – the company advising Lincolnshire County Council on highway design and environmental compliance – the three most significant finds discovered as part of this investigation are:

Several exceptionally well-preserved Roman buildings – one building was terraced into the hillside and officials believe that a landslip caused it to collapse.

“The remarkable preservation of this building and several others will help the archaeologists in reconstructing the buildings and the lives of those that used them.”

Burials – as well as a grave containing the remains of several adults, the remains of at least eight new-born babies who died in the second or third centuries AD were found buried under the floors and foundations of some of the buildings.

Phil said: “Such burials are not uncommon on Roman sites and they are referred to as foundation burials.

“No one knows for sure why, but one idea is that they were thought to bring luck to the structure and its occupants.”

Industrial features – a very well-preserved pottery kiln and several other furnace/oven bases were uncovered.

Phil said: “The pottery kiln we discovered indicates that the small settlement was producing its own pottery vessels.

“The function of the other furnaces and oven features is still unclear, but it’s possible they may have been used to bake bread or for metalworking.”

Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “When building a new road, it’s not just about constructing bridges and laying Tarmac.

“First and foremost, it’s really important to understand and protect the area’s heritage so future generations learn from and understand its rich history.

“For example, these investigations where Grantham’s new relief road will be built will greatly contribute to our understanding of the Roman settlement at Saltersford, just south of where Grantham is now – particularly what sort of activities were taking place here hundreds and thousands of years ago and how our Grantham fits into the country’s historical picture.

“It’s truly amazing when you stop and think about what’s underneath the ground below your feet.”

The Grantham Southern Relief Road project is being led by Lincolnshire County Council and supported by South Kesteven District Council, Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Highways England, Department for Transport, Network Rail, Homes England, and local businesses.