In the central-eastern part of England, burials were discovered in 2018, in which there were two male skeletons with legs cut off. Scientists say they date back to either the Late Roman Period or the Saxon Period.
The finds took place during the excavations carried out, before the construction of a new road was started. According to researchers, men could have died due to their lower limbs being cut off and, moreover, they could have received a blow to the head; however, it is uncertain whether the damage to the bones of the head occurred later – the heads are completely crushed.
Moreover, the arrangement of the bodies with their heads turned indicates that the dead were not buried respectfully, but rather buried in the ground. As one of the archaeologists Jonathan House says: “Someone very, very much disliked these guys.” One of the skeletons had fairly good bone condition, which proves that the person died rather young and was well fed. This suggests that the deceased were simply cut off their legs and buried after bleeding out.
About 50 meters from the burials, scientists found the remains of a Roman well. Moreover, the excavation area was surrounded by a ditch two meters deep. The lack of traces of military buildings suggests that this place may have been a temporary marching camp – a stop to the Hadrian’s Embankment.
