Mysterious history: Revealing the bloody tragedy 1,500 years ago on the beautiful island

In an effort that lasted more than half a decade, from the skeletons found in an unexpected situation, archaeologists gradually uncovered the mystery of tragedy on a beautiful island 16 centuries ago.

About 1,500 years ago, a terrible event happened at "Sandy borg" - a circular fortress on the island of Oland, located off Sweden to the southeast of the Baltic coast. It took 7 years of diligent excavation, new archaeologists gradually lifted the terrible tragedy that happened on this beautiful and dreamy island.

During the discovery of this monument, many skeletons of children, adolescents and adult men were discovered. Surprisingly, the skeletons are not buried but seem to be left behind. On many skeletons there are signs of being beaten with blunt objects.

One of the 26 bodies was found in the archaeological area.(Photo: Kalmar County Museum).

At the scene, the appearance of children's bones and jewelry shows that women have lived at "Sandy borg " for quite a long time. However, the only male bone shows two possibilities: women left before the event that killed all men or left after the event - may have been taken away.

In addition, the evidence at the scene shows that, after the incident above, this round fortress has been abandoned and remains the same since then.

All lead to the question of a bloody massacre !

According to a new study published in Antiquity Magazine, clues about the massacre and the scene still exist with time, enabling researchers to learn more about this tragedy.

'I think what makes "Sandy borg" special is the nature of archaeological materials: the burial bodies of people who are murdered or the "frozen moments" - all of which are hard to find. In archaeological sites on the mainland ' , archaeologist Ludvig Papmehl-Dufay - co-author of the study said.

'A terrible thing happened'

The study indicates that, at the time of the massacre, it was during the period of European Migration that lasted from 400 to 550 AD. This was a chaotic period when the Western Roman Empire was destroyed, Europe faced the invasion of the Hungarian Empire .

At this time, wars and famine caused a socio-economic crisis, leaving agricultural and housing areas abandoned or destroyed. Therefore, the people at "Sandy borg" may have been affected by the chaos of the times.

'Right in the first year (2011) when we started excavating, when we found un-buried skeletons that remained in the houses inside the fort, we realized that something terrible had happened. Get out here ' , Papmehl-Dufay recounted.

'A year later, the evidence indicated that some skeletons showed signs of a serious injury. This has a lot of psychological effects on us, especially when the bones of children and babies are found. '

In a house, the researchers found the skeleton of a young boy with a leg placed in the pelvis of an adult man, suggesting that the victim may have fallen behind, pressing on his body. above men.(Photo: Kalmar County Museum).

In total, archaeologists found bones of 26 people, animal bones and many other antiques. The most haunting is the case of 9 male skeletons in the same house, of which one infant is estimated to be only one and a half months until 3 months old and older children are estimated at 2-5 years old. After testing, the researchers found that some skulls, including the skull of the older child, were showing signs of blunt trauma - meaning that these people might have been killed by the blows. banged hard on the head. The posture of the skeletons shows the victims died immediately after being attacked or have fallen into unconsciousness and died later.

In addition, archaeologists also found traces of coal ash - a sign of the attackers having set fire to homes during the massacre. At the scene, only a few heads, one head and some swords were found. This shows that the residents of Sandyborg were not prepared for fighting or the weapons were stolen after the massacre.

'The contrast between the poetic beauty, right next to the sea of ​​this area and its dark past is really strange,' Papmehl-Dufay said.

Has truth ever been revealed?

Today's "Sandy borg" looks very poetic when lying next to the beach.(Photo: Sebastian Jakobsson).

Although "Sandy borg" gave archaeologists an overall view of life at that time and the event that happened at the ruins, there are still too many unexplained questions: Why is it? Is this attack aimed only at men? Why doesn't anyone return to bury the victims? Why do people in the fortress have no weapons? Who did this cruel work? .

Currently, archaeologists have only completely excavated 2 out of 53 houses in the fortress and 50% of a third house. In addition, the research project is also implementing a small survey with 6 houses among them. Therefore, archaeologist Ludvig Papmehl-Dufay said that in the future, the "Sandy borg" massacre may be revealed when the excavation is completed.