This 2,800-Year-Old Burial Site Doesn’t Look Like the Wars We Usually Imagine
Archaeologists in Serbia unearthed a 2,800-year-old burial site, which contained the remains of 77 people. The discovery challenges old beliefs about ancient wars. The site had many women and children, with few adult males. Genetic tests showed th...
A burial ground was discovered in northern Serbia that contained the skeletal remains of 77 people, dating back about 2,800 years. What caught the attention of archaeologists was the place itself and the people buried there, as per ScienceDaily. Contrary to what has always been depicted in history, where the focus is on grown-up male warriors fighting each other, the burial ground at Gomolava had more skeletons of women and children. This highlights the need to look beyond the battles fought by soldiers in ancient history and focus on the civilian population, who may have been involved in wars.
Who were the victims?
A detailed examination of the skeletons revealed a very peculiar demographic distribution within the population. The majority were children under 12 years of age, and there was significant representation of women. However, adult males were noticeably missing. According to an article found in Archaeology Magazine, the lack of balance is very important when considering the nature of the event because of the following fact: genetic testing proved that the killed individuals were not kin, which means that more than one community was involved in the incident. The makeup of the burial pit does not fit the hypothesis of ancient wars focused solely on killing warriors.
There is evidence of deliberate violence
From the state of their bones, it is quite evident the way in which they lost their lives. There are a number of skulls with blunt force trauma injuries, while other skulls are injured in such a way that shows they were stabbed. From this evidence, it is likely they were attacked very close by rather than from long distances. It could be possible that the people attacking them had some kind of advantage, which might be because they were attacking from a higher position.
Image Credit: Gemini
What does this mean for understanding the past?
The Gomolava site is significant not only for marking an event but also for requiring a new understanding of how violence operated in Europe in earlier times. The presence of burial artifacts, in addition to animal bones and pottery, indicates that survivors made efforts to respond to this situation in a particular manner. This is yet another aspect of this phenomenon: despite the events, people tried to cope with their experiences in the aftermath. The example provides insight into the power that archaeological evidence has to prove something contrary to what has been believed before. Rather than focusing solely on violent aspects, one sees a much broader picture emerging here.
