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Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Find Grisly Evidence of Medieval Public Punishment
Archaeologists in England have uncovered gruesome evidence of a Medieval-era public punishment which occurred along the River Thames more than 1,200 years ago, according to a new study (via Ancient Origins). Researchers conducted a full bioarchaeological analysis on the remains of a woman, known as UPT90 sk 1278, who had been beaten to death and was originally unearthed in 1991. "The burial treatment of UPT90 sk 1278 lets us know that her body was meant to be visible on the landscape, which could be interpreted as a warning to witnesses," said the study's lead author, Madeline Mant. "We can tell from the osteobiography that she was executed, but the specific offense is impossible to know for certain.'Mant and her team found that, as opposed to traditional burials of the time, the woman's body was not buried but left out in the open to decompose, likely as a warning to other residents of the community. Her body was placed in an area between the river and the shore, which would ensure her corpse would be alternately revealed and hidden by the tides. This was a location frequently chosen for those found to be 'socially deviant.' She had been placed between two sheets of bark on top of a reed mat with pads of moss affixed to areas on her face, which Mant believed to be symbolic gestures from her analysis revealed the woman, aged between 28 and 40 at the time of her death, had suffered 'dietary distress' at some point in her life, which the researchers believe to be related to childhood starvation or a drastic shift in diet. There were also signs that she had suffered as many as 50 'traumatic' injuries during two instances of violence which preceded her death, leaving her with blunt-force injuries to the torso and skull as well as a bilateral scapular fracture, which is often seen in car accident victims. Mant believes the woman endured a particularly grisly death because rules surrounding crime and punishment were extremely nebulous during this period. "As time passed, more crimes were associated with the death penalty,' she explained. 'This was a time of legal evolution."Archaeologists Find Grisly Evidence of Medieval Public Punishment first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 7, 2025
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Chilling execution of ‘washed up' Medieval woman revealed as experts say brutal punishment was a ‘warning to others'
THE remains of a roughly 1,200-year-old woman found on the shores of the River Thames have exposed the brutal punishment practices of early Medieval Britain. London between 600 to 800 AD , or Lundenwic as it was then known, was a very different place than it is today. 3 The woman, whose remains have been categorised as UPT90 sk 1278 in museum records, was between the ages of 28 and 40 when she died Credit: Museum of London 3 The River Thames near Blackfriars Bridge, London Credit: Getty The settlement, which covered the area of modern-day Covent Garden, was made up of narrow, winding streets and buildings made of timber and straw. It had a population of roughly 8,000 people - a far cry from the 9.26million residents that live there today. The remains of one Londoner, believed to have lived during the early medieval period between 680 and 810 AD , act as an example of these practices. Lawbreakers appeared to be executed in the streets, according to experts, and their bodies were left to decompose for all to see as a warning to others. READ MORE ON ARCHAEOLOGY The woman, whose remains have been categorised as UPT90 sk 1278 in museum records, was between the ages of 28 and 40 when she died. She was not buried, but rather sandwiched between two sheets of bark, lying on a mat of reeds with moss pads placed on her face, pelvis, and knees. When the woman was first excavated in 1991, archaeologists noted that she was likely placed on the foreshore of the Thames where her remains were in public view. "The burial treatment of UPT90 sk 1278 lets us know that her body was meant to be visible on the landscape, which could be interpreted as a warning to witnesses," said Dr. Madeline Mant, who studied the remains once they were moved to the London Museum . Most read in Science Dr. Mant and her colleagues their findings in the journal World Archaeology . Biggest burial site in Greek history guarded by two headless sphinx unearthed and it could be tomb of Alexander the Great "We can tell from the osteobiography of this individual and their burial treatment that they were executed, but the specific offense is impossible to know for certain," she added. "We can only infer from the law codes of the period." Just two weeks before her death, the woman was subject to torturous beatings and an eventual execution, researchers wrote. Her body was laden with over 50 individual signs of injury, with fractures on her shoulders and spine resembling that of a car accident victim, according to experts. The researchers believe the 9th-century woman may have been beaten or flogged - where a victim is repeatedly hit with a whip or a stick. The second round of injuries on her torso and skull suggest the woman was punched or kicked repeatedly, in what experts have likened to torture beatings. Her execution was a final blow to the left side of her head. Dr. Mant said her death was likely a form of capital punishment, which were becoming increasingly common in the period the woman is understood to have lived. "Early Medieval England was a time of change regarding law codes - the law code of Æthelberht (c. 589–616) did not include corporal punishment, but that of Wihtred of Kent (690–725) outlined specific punishments, for instance, beatings for those who could not pay fines," explained Dr. Mant. "Capital punishments were also included when willed by the king. "As time passed, more crimes were associated with the death penalty under King Alfred (871–899). "Crimes such as theft, treason, witchcraft, and sorcery could be met with the death penalty, which could be brought about by stoning or drowning." 3 An illustration of London in the early Medieval period Credit: Mola The woman's diet consisted of terrestrial foods, like grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy, and eggs. However, her remains show a period of increased stable nitrogen values sometime after she turned 5-years-old. This could mean the woman either began eating more meat, or she suffered a period of starvation, during which her body began breaking down its own fat and protein stores. Starvation was a significant threat in early Medieval London, particularly for those who migrated to the city.
