ᴀʀᴄʜᴀᴇᴏʟᴏɢɪsᴛs ɪɴ ᴇɴɢʟᴀɴᴅ ғɪɴᴅ ᴛᴡᴏ sᴋᴇʟᴇᴛᴏɴs ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟᴇɢs ᴄʜᴏᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴏғғ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɴᴇᴇs

ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴀᴠᴇs ᴏғ 𝟸 ᴍᴇɴ ᴡʜᴏsᴇ ʟᴇɢs ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴄʜᴏᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴏғғ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɴᴇᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇᴅ ᴄᴀʀᴇғᴜʟʟʏ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅᴇʀs ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ʙᴜʀɪᴀʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴅɪsᴄᴏᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴀʀᴄʜᴀᴇᴏʟᴏɢɪsᴛs ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴀ ʜᴜɢᴇ ʟɪɴᴇᴀʀ sɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ᴀᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴏғ ʀᴏᴀᴅᴡᴏʀᴋs ɪɴ ᴄᴀᴍʙʀɪᴅɢᴇsʜɪʀᴇ.

ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇsᴛ sᴄᴇɴᴀʀɪᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʀᴄʜᴀᴇᴏʟᴏɢɪsᴛs ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ғᴏʀ ɪs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴғᴏʀᴛᴜɴᴀᴛᴇ ᴍᴇɴ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʟᴇɢs ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴍᴜᴛɪʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ.

ɪᴛ ᴀʟsᴏ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀs ᴛʜᴇɪʀ sᴋᴜʟʟ ᴡᴀs sᴍᴀsʜᴇᴅ ɪɴ, ᴀʟᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇ.

“Was it to keep them in their graves and stop them from running away?” said Kasia Gdaniec, the senior archaeologist with Cambridge administration.

“Or had they tried to run away and was this a punishment – and a warning to everyone else not even to think of it?

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴍᴇɴ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀᴛᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴ ᴏʀ ᴇᴀʀʟʏ sᴀxᴏɴ ᴘᴇʀɪᴏᴅ, ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇᴅ ɪɴ ɢʀᴀᴠᴇs – ᴀᴛ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴀɴɢʟᴇs ᴛᴏ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʜᴇᴀᴅs ᴛᴜʀɴᴇᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ – ɪɴ ᴀ ɢʀᴀᴠᴇʟ ᴘɪᴛ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴜsᴇᴅ ᴀs ᴀ ʀᴜʙʙɪsʜ ᴅᴜᴍᴘ.

“Somebody really, really didn’t like these guys,” said Jonathan House, an archaeologist with the Mola Headland Infrastructure team.

“We found only a few humans remain, and then this pair and the poor guy over there.”

ʙᴀʀᴇʟʏ 𝟻𝟶 ᴍᴇᴛᴇʀs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ 𝟸 ɢʀᴀᴠᴇs, ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʀᴄʜᴀᴇᴏʟᴏɢɪsᴛs ғᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴀ ᴛɪᴍʙᴇʀ-ʟɪɴᴇᴅ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴ ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀʟʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ʙᴇɢᴜɴ ᴛᴏ ғɪʟʟ ɪɴ – ᴘᴏssɪʙʟʏ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴘʀɪɴɢ ғᴀɪʟᴇᴅ – ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴍᴀɪɴs ᴏғ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴜɴғᴏʀᴛᴜɴᴀᴛᴇ ᴡᴇʀᴇ sʟᴜɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ɪᴛ. ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʙᴏᴅʏ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴄʜᴏᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴏғғ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀɪsᴛ.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʀᴄʜᴀᴇᴏʟᴏɢɪsᴛs ғᴏᴜɴᴅ ɴᴏ ᴛʀᴀᴄᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʟᴠɪs ᴏʀ ʟᴇɢ ʙᴏɴᴇs, ʜᴏᴡᴇᴠᴇʀ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴘᴏsɪᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏʀsᴏ, ʜᴇᴀᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʀᴍs ᴡᴇʀᴇ sᴛɪʟʟ ɪɴᴛᴀᴄᴛ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴅɪsᴄᴀʀᴅᴇᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʀᴜʙʙɪsʜ.

The Mola unit was among those working on one of the UK’s largest ever excavations, at 40 sites strung along 350 hectares wherever the traffic-choked A14 from Cambridge to Huntingdon is being widened.

Gdaniec finds the complete site quite sinister. “People talk about the archaeology of conquest, however, I have never felt it as strongly as here.

The Romans arrive, and the people who were here are completely subjugated, everything changes and isn’t the same again. We are not seeing trade and peaceful co-existence here, we are seeing enslavement.”

The site had been enclosed by a rather wiggly ditch, more a windbreak than either seriously defensive or a statement of power.

The Romans then arrived and by stupendous effort drove a huge ditch across it, almost 2 meters deep and three wide with the spoil heaped up into a huge bank.

Despite its size and the labor involved, there was no proof of large permanent Roman buildings and so the archaeologists believe it was a temporary camp on the march north towards Hadrian’s Wall.

Within the new enclosure, farming became far more organized and intensive, with wheat and other cereals, beans, and root crops full-grown.

The archaeologists, who worked through a winter once the heavy clay froze and then turned into a swamp of mud – it is now baked as hard as cement – know what labor such farming required: to Gdaniec it speaks of slave producing food crops for their conquerors.

The site had additionally produced scores of pottery kilns, some so tiny the archaeologists joked they must have been for egg cups, others large and sophisticated, producing domestic and storage pottery on an industrial scale. Tonnes of pottery were found on the excavation sites.

“We have some of the pottery they created,” House said. “It will be interesting to see if we can match it to pottery from other Roman sites. I wouldn’t be stunned if some of the pots from this field ended up on Hadrian’s Wall.”

The bizarre burials are among the most enigmatic finds from excavations that have uncovered bronze-age barrows, iron-age farms, Roman campsites, and medieval villages.

At the project’s height, over  250 archaeologists were employed by Highways England, stripping back the previously unrecorded populations of a landscape now that now consists of large and rather featureless fields, wherever you’ll walk for hours without encountering another human.

One of the skeletons has particularly fine teeth and most of the bones are in good condition, so carbon-14, DNA, and other tests ought to be able to date the remains and find out where the unfortunates began their short lives – if not quite why they ended up mutilated and buried in a rubbish pit.