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The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
‘Game of Thrones-style families' behind 2,000-year-old Dorset massacre
Game of Thrones -like barons in England were responsible for the brutal massacre of dozens of people 2,000 years ago, research has revealed. The 62 skeletons, found with skulls ' smashed to oblivion ', were unearthed in 1936 at a mass burial site in Maiden Castle, Dorset. Researchers at the time blamed the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43 for their deaths - something that resonated with British fears of a Nazi invasion in the 1930s. But Bournemouth University archaeologist Dr Miles Russell revealed the bones actually dated to around the first century AD, by using modern dating techniques. 'They died violently and with overkill. These were Game of Thrones-like barons with one dynasty wiping out another,' Dr Russell told The Independent. 'Their skulls have been repeatedly smashed to oblivion with swords and other weapons. People were dragged up there and put to death.' Dr Russell said those killed were an aristocratic elite murdered and buried with honour, something that would not have been done for common criminals. 'They could have been competing for a throne or power, and it was important to finish them off and destroy the blood line,' he added. Sir Mortimer Wheeler led excavations of the Iron Age hill fort in the 1930s, and popularised the idea that the remains belonged to English people slain by 'barbaric' pillaging Romans. Because the site was still occupied in AD43, Sir Mortimer was convinced the skeletons were evidence of a Roman campaign against native Britons, according to Historic England. Dr Russell said this was a reasonable assumption to make at the time without access to modern carbon dating systems used today. He said this dramatic explanation for the burial site would have helped attract funding for archaeological digs, something that was in short supply in the 1930s. 'They were thugs with resources and private armies. The hill fort dominated the horizon, and these people were done to death publicly,' Dr Russell added. Maiden Castle is one of the largest Iron Age hill forts in Europe, around the size of 50 football pitches, according to Historic England. The castle's ramparts were constructed around 2,400 years ago and protected hundreds of residents. Within a few decades of the arrival of the Romans, the hill fort was abandoned, Historic England added. The Romans then built the town of Dorchester to the north-east as the regional capital of the Durotriges.
The Sun
26-05-2025
- The Sun
Chilling secret of mass ‘gangland-style executions' finally revealed as experts analyse over 50 Iron Age skeletons
A MASS grave of more than 50 skeletons has cast light on tribal warfare in Iron Age Britain, where gangs engaged in bloody turf wars. Historians previously believed mass slaughter events involving hill fort tribes in the west country were caused by invading Romans. 4 4 4 But radiocarbon dating of human remains unearthed in 1936 have revealed the victims were actually killed a century before the Romans arrived. Researchers believe "localised gangland infighting" was actually behind the killings, which happened to be at one of Europe's biggest hill forts, the Daily Mail reported. "We can now say quite categorically that these individuals died a long time before the Romans arrived and over a long period of time, not in single battle for a hill fort," Dr Miles Russell, principal academic in prehistoric and Roman archaeology at Bournemouth University, said in a statement. The Romans didn't arrive in Dorset until 43AD. Cut marks on the victims suggest they were killed by "lethal weapon injuries" - and in very public displays. Experts say their deaths could have acted as a warning to others not to fall out of line. Dr Russell, who has spent several years researching the burial site at Maiden Castle near Dorchester, added: "The deaths were a series of gangland-style executions. "People were dragged up there and put to death as a way of one group exerting control over another." The executions took place between the late first century BC to the early first century AD - suggesting the violence was lethal across multiple generations. "These were Mafia-like families. Game of Thrones-like barons with one dynasty wiping out another to control trade links and protection rackets for power," Dr Russell continued. "What we are seeing is the people who lost out being executed. "Most of them had cranial trauma with no sign of defensive wounds. They were repeatedly struck with a sword to the head with the skulls smashed to oblivion. "You are talking overkill, not a single death blow. These were gangland executions carried out in a very prominent and obvious way as a warning to others." The Maiden Castle grave site is one of the most famous archaeological discoveries in Britain. When it was unearthed in 1936, dig director Sir Mortimer Wheeler suggested the injuries were "the marks of battle" with the Romans. The misinterpretation of the Maiden Castle site, dubbed the "war cemetery", brings into question how other archaeological cemeteries across the south west have been understood. 4
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
The mafia-like turf wars of Iron Age Britain: Game of Thrones-style barons carried out 'gangland executions' of rival tribes leading to mass slaughter, new research reveals
Mafia-like gangs roamed the countryside executing rival tribes in bloody turf wars in Iron Age Britain, new research has revealed. For almost a century, historians have blamed the invading Romans for mass slaughter events involving native tribes at hill forts across the west country. But radiocarbon dating of human remains dug up in 1936 at one of Europe's biggest hill forts has revealed the victims were actually killed 100 years before the Romans arrived. And far from a bloodthirsty invading army carrying out atrocities as they swept their way across the land, 'localised gangland infighting' was behind the brutal slayings. Rival groups fought one another for control over territory. The evidence shows the victims were killed by 'lethal weapon injuries' in very public displays as a warning to others not to fall out of line, experts say. Dr Miles Russell, principal academic in prehistoric and Roman archaeology at Bournemouth University, has spent several years researching the burial site at Maiden Castle near Dorchester, where the remains of more than 50 people were found 90 years ago. He said: 'We can now say quite categorically that these individuals died a long time before the Romans arrived and over a long period of time, not in single battle for a hill fort. 'The deaths were a series of gangland-syle executions. 'People were dragged up there and put to death as a way of one group exerting control over another. 'These were Mafia-like families. Game of Throne-like barons with one dynasty wiping out another to control trade links and protection rackets for power. 'What we are seeing is he people who lost out being executed. 'Most of them had cranial trauma with no sign of defensive wounds. They were repeatedly struck with a sword to the head with the skulls smashed to oblivion. 'You are talking overkill, not a single death blow. These were gangland executions carried out in a very prominent and obvious way as a warning to others.' The research shows the executions took place over a long period of time between the late first century BC and the early first century AD. The Romans didn't arrive in Dorset until 43AD. The 'war-cemetery' at Maiden Castle is one of Britain's most famous archaeological discoveries. In 1936 dig director Sir Mortimer Wheeler suggested the deaths were the result of a 'furious but ultimately futile defence of the hillfort against an all-conquering Roman legion.' This account was accepted as fact, becoming an iconic event in popular narratives of Britain's 'Island Story'. Dr Russell said: 'Since the 1930s, the story of Britons fighting Romans at one of the largest hillforts in the country has become a fixture in historical literature. 'The tale of innocent men and women of the local Durotriges tribe being slaughtered by Rome is powerful and poignant. It features in countless articles, books and TV documentaries. 'It has become a defining moment in British history, marking the sudden and violent end of the Iron Age.' 'The trouble is it doesn't appear to have actually happened. 'The archaeological evidence points to it being a case of Britons killing Britons and the dead being buried in a long-abandoned fortification. 'The Roman army committed many atrocities, but this does not appear to be one of them. 'After they landed in Essex they invading Romans fought organised armies of kings or queens in defensive positions. 'But as they moved further west the people and communities they encountered were more scattered and was very difficult for them to dictate to people that they were under their control. 'By this stage the Romans were more about exploiting territory and getting money out of it. In the Mendips it was extracting lead, in the Weald in Sussex it was iron and in Dorset in was farming.' The work at Maiden Castle also brings into question how other archaeological cemeteries across the south west have been interpreted.
