5 Nov, 2023 @ 17:00
1 min read

Mass grave from 5,000 years ago is discovered in Spain: Experts believe bodies are from victims of deadly stone age war

THE unexpected discovery of 300 fossilised human remains in what’s thought to be a mass grave has stunned experts and hints at a violent conflict dating back 5,000 years.

Researchers found that injuries to the skulls indicate a highly unusual and savage conflict for the Neolithic era.

The find was originally made in a road in the Rioja Alavesa of Laguardia in the Basque country by excavators in 1985.

Further excavations revealed a 20sqm shelter which housed the human remains of around 338 individuals buried in ‘atypical positions,’ including face-down.

The bodies were found next to a cash of arrow heads and axes in what is thought to be a stone age massacre. Credit: Nature

An armoury of 52 arrowheads, 64 cutting blades, two polished stone axes, and five tools made of bone  were found alongside the remains.

The fossilised skulls showed signs of unhealed traumas, which indicate the injuries caused the person’s death, in up to 78 individuals.

The axes and arrowheads matched the injuries to the skulls and were determined to be the deadly weapons.

The team of scientists, led by Teresa Fernandez-Crespo, a professor at the University of Valladolid noted that damage to bones during violent conflicts are rare.

Usually it is the soft tissues which are catastrophically damaged. 

Even in other cases of prehistoric massacres, the percentage of individuals affected by smashed up bones rarely exceeded half – indicating the extreme ferocity with which the people died.

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Walter Finch

Walter Finch, who comes from a background in video and photography, is keen on reporting on and investigating organised crime, corruption and abuse of power. He is fascinated by the nexus between politics, business and law-breaking, as well as other wider trends that affect society.
Born in London but having lived in six countries, he is well-travelled and worldly. He studied Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and earned his diploma in journalism from London's renowned News Associates during the Covid era.
He got his first break in the business working on the Foreign News desk of the Daily Mail's online arm, where he also helped out on the video desk.
He then decided to escape the confines of London and returned to Spain in 2022, having previously lived in Barcelona for many years.
He took up up a reporter role with the Olive Press Newspaper and today he is based in La Linea de la Concepcion at the heart of a global chokepoint and crucial maritime hub, where he edits the Olive Press Gibraltar edition.
He is also the deputy news editor across all editions of the newspaper.

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