A GRIM mass grave filled with dozens of dead bodies in a death pit may point to evidence of “ancient genocide”.
Archaeologists believe those found in the mass burial site may have been fleeing an attack on their village nearly 3,000 years ago.
The majority of bodies found at the site were those of women and childrenCredit: Nature Human Behaviour
A team of researchers made the chilling discovery after re-examining remains found in an area of land at Gomalva in Serbia, which also included eerie “animal offerings”.
“This is something extraordinary,” Mario Gavranovic, an archaeologist at the Austrian Archaeological Institute who was not involved in the new research, told the Science journal.
The grave was originally discovered in the early 70s, with researchers reporting women and children were targeted in the killings that took place around 800BC.
Barry Molloy, associate professor at University College Dublin, who co-authored the paper, wrote in the Nature Human Behaviour journal that the team were “expecting a village community that all died when a disease came along”.
However, he said the evidence now points to an ancient genocide.
“What we found at Gomolava tells us that as things recovered in this area moving into the Iron Age, reasserting control over landscapes could include widespread and extremely violent episodes between competing groups,” he wrote.
Researchers discovered some of those found in the pit had fractured skulls while a few bore marks on their bones from arrows, spears or swords.
Most displayed no signs of trauma, which researchers believe points to extremely violent episodes between competing groups.
“Not only had the bodies not been stripped of their valuables, offerings were made in what must have been a respectful ritual,” wrote Molloy.
“There’s clearly a choice being made about who’s being killed.”
The paper was co-authored by a team of researchers from University College Dublin, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Copenhagen, and the Museum of Vojvodina.
