Scientists say victims of the Somerset massacre were 'cannibalised' in Bronze Age

A new discovery has been made by scientists in an "exceptionally violent" attack which took place around 4,000 years ago in Somerset when around 37 people died. The scientists are now suggesting that these people were not just killed but butchered and likely eaten.

This was the largest incidence of violence identified between human beings in the early Bronze Age in England. The period was considered peaceful.

The bones of the victims were discovered by the cavers in the 1970s. According to experts, the people were thrown inside a shaft, which was 15 metres deep, by the prehistoric attackers.

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The massacre of people was instigated by a furious "desire for revenge" and its effects most probably "echoed through generations", said Professor Rick Schulting at Oxford University.

He said that victims are likely to have been eaten as part of a ritual to "dehumanise" them and was aimed at sending a message by "insulting the remains".

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A team of archaeologists analysed around 3,000 fragments of bones that were discovered at a cave system known as Charterhouse Warren in the Mendip Hills, Somerset.

As per experts, there was no evidence of fightback in the newly identified attack, which further concluded that the attackers took victims by surprise.

The cut marks and scrapes on the bones indicate that the victims were systematically dismembered by the attackers with the use of stone tools and then consumed.

"If we saw these marks on animal bones, we'd have no question that they were butchered," Prof. Schulting said.

What triggered the cannibalism?

As per scientists, hunger was not the reason behind this cannibalism, as the fragments were lying alongside animal bones, which indicated sufficient food.

This is the first documented case of extensive dismembering of the bodies in this era. Because of this, experts suspected that the violence happened because of a huge breakdown in relationships.

"This was something exceptional. This level of almost erasing the person, literally chopping them into pieces, seems like something you would only do if fuelled by anger, fear and resentment," said Prof. Schulting.

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According to one theory, someone did "something horrible that justified this in the eyes of those doing it", he said.

"This is not a homicidal maniac. This is a community of people that came together to do this to another community," he added. He said that a culture of honour may have led to the attack.

"If you felt wronged, it was ultimately your responsibility to do something about it. It's not like you could go to the magistrate and ask for something to be done," Prof. Schulting explained.

He said that scenario appeared like a case where "things cycled out of control and normal checks and balances failed."

Prof. Schulting suggested that it could be one particularly antagonistic person who didn't "let things rest" or "had their own agenda". "If you have those kinds of people on two sides of a conflict, it starts to spiral out of control," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)