PHOTO: The Guardian
ALSACE, FRANCE – Archaeologists seem to have unearthed the remains of a neolithic massacre going back 6,000 years.
A group of researchers from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) were working on site of 300 ancient silos surrounded by a defense wall. That wall was their first clue that the silos were in use during a time of unrest and insecurity in France’s history. Then they discovered the bodies of 10 people buried in one of the 300 silos.
How do they know it was a massacre? Well, it’s pretty obvious. Every single one of the 6,000 year old skeletons show signs of a violent death. Each individual has multiple injuries to their legs, hands, and skulls. The bodies are piled on top of each other is a clue to how they died, too. They were probably killed together during one event and then dumped into the silo.
The site has been dated back to the neolithic era in France. One of the skeletons was an adolescent. They also found detached arms, and, judging with contemporary archaeology from the burial site near Bergheim that was found in 2012, the arms themselves were probably war trophies.
The theory goes that the local tribe had fought with a tribal group coming from the area around Paris. The Parisians had attempted to raid the silos, and the local people obliterated them, mutilated their bodies, and dumped them in the silo as retaliation. The history of the area tells us that the new group would, eventually, win out. According to a shift in the funeral rites, pottery, and architecture of the villages in the area, the local tribe died off and was replaced by the newcomers.
The find is still under the care of Inrap. The bones will undergo genetic testing in the months to come. Time will tell whether or not the archaeologists’ theory about what went down at Alsace 6,000 years ago is, in fact, correct.