Kiel Study Finds 78 Headless 7,000-Year-Old Skeletons in Slovakia, Pointing to Neolithic Burial Rituals
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Jun 9
Kiel Study Finds 78 Headless 7,000-Year-Old Skeletons in Slovakia, Pointing to Neolithic Burial Rituals
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jun 9
Summary
Seventy-eight skeletons piled in a ditch at Vráble, Slovakia, were detailed in a new Kiel University-backed study, with all but one found headless and apparently buried soon after death.
Researchers said the remains were intentionally manipulated after death rather than violently decapitated, arguing the burial pattern reflects recurring Neolithic social or ritual practices, not a massacre or crisis.
The site dates to settlers living around 5250 to 4950 B.C.E., and the surrounding excavation has identified what archaeologists believe were 300 houses across three neighborhoods.
The findings, published in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, add to evidence that early European farming communities treated skulls separately from bodies in ways whose meaning remains unclear.
A 7,000-year-old mass grave held 77 headless bodies. What ancient ritual explains this bizarre burial?
How did strange death rituals help build Europe’s first farming societies seven millennia ago?
77 Headless Skeletons at Vráble-Veľké Lehemby: New Insights into Neolithic Ritual, Violence, and Crisis
Overview
A remarkable archaeological discovery at the Neolithic settlement of Vráble-Veľké Lehemby in southwestern Slovakia has revealed a mass grave containing 77 headless skeletons, dating back about 7,000 years. This site, one of the largest of the Linear Pottery culture, features three clusters of houses and a rare ditch system. The grave, found near a settlement entrance, is considered unique in European Neolithic archaeology. Researchers are investigating whether the decapitations were the result of violence, ritual, or social practices, using advanced scientific methods to uncover the origins, relationships, and possible reasons behind this extraordinary find.