The Bronze Age was a period of cultural and technological change in Britain.
But it was also a time of cannibalism, according to a new study.
Analysis of human remains dating back to 2500BC shows that many people were killed, butchered and eaten in very violent events.
And it calls into question the idea that Early Bronze Age Britain was peaceful, experts said.
A team of archaeologists, led by a University of Oxfordexamined more than 3,000 human bones and bone fragments excavated from Charterhouse Warren, a cottage in Somerset.
They were first found in a 15 meter deep shaft in the 1970s and represent at least 37 people – including men, women and children.
Unlike most modern burials, the skulls show evidence of violent death from blunt force trauma – for example being hit on the head with something hard.
A closer look at the bones revealed multiple cuts and internal fractures that occurred during the process of death, suggesting that they were deliberately killed and may have been partially eaten.
The study of human corpses from 2500BC shows that many people were killed, killed and eaten in very violent events.
A team of archaeologists, led by the University of Oxford, examined the bones of more than 3,000 people and bone fragments excavated from Charterhouse Warren, a small house in Somerset.
Although there have been hundreds of human skeletons found in Britain from the same period, direct evidence of violent battles is rare.
‘We find more evidence of bone trauma from the Neolithic period in Britain (10,000BC) than the Early Bronze Age, so Charterhouse Warren seems to be a very unusual event’, said lead author Professor Rick Schulting.
‘It paints a much darker picture of the period than many expected.’
The investigators said that the evidence of violent death – without any sign of war – means that the victims were taken by surprise.
They were probably all killed and their enemies were killed, he concluded.
There were a lot of cow bones found mixed in with human bones, which means that the people at Charterhouse Warren had a lot of cannibals to eat.
In fact, cannibalism can be a way to dehumanize the dead, the group says, and by eating their flesh and mixing it with cow bones, the killers were comparing their enemies to animals.
Although it is impossible to determine the reason for the killing, the researchers suggest that it could be something related to people such as theft or swearing, which caused conflicts that grew out of bounds.
Investigators say evidence of brutal killings – with no indication of a fight – means the victims were shocked.
‘Charterhouse Warren is one of those rare historical sites that challenge the way we think about the past.’ Professor Schulting added.
‘It’s a powerful reminder that people in the past can parallel modern atrocities and shine a light on the dark side of human nature.
‘That it is unlikely to be a single event makes the story all the more important.’
The findings were published in the journal Antiquity.
