It looks as though everyone got it wrong. A month ago, everyone reported how archaeologists working on the Weymouth Relief Road had discovered a burial pit of dismembered skeletons which dated to between late Iron Age to early Roman times.
It turns out that they were only out by around 1,000 years. The bodies probably date to the 10th century. Here is full press release from Dorset County Council:
Remains found at the top of Ridgeway Hill within the Weymouth Relief Road construction site have been dated to the late Saxon period.
The decapitated skulls were originally thought to be Iron Age or early Roman due to pottery from this period found in the burial pit, however, radio carbon dating places the remains between AD 890 and AD 1030.
Oxford Archaeology project manager David Score said:
"There was very little other evidence in the pit apart from a few shards of pottery.
"In order to clarify the date of the remains we sent off a sample of bone for urgent radio carbon dating and amazingly the date which has come back is in the late Saxon period.
"This result really highlights the important part that scientific techniques play in modern archaeological investigations.
"The time period we're now looking at is one of considerable conflict between the resident Saxon population and invading Danes. Viking raids were common and there were a series of major battles in the south of England as successive Saxon kings and Viking leaders fought for control.
"The burial location is typical of places used for executions during this time; in a prominent location and next to a main road and a parish boundary. However, the large number of individuals and method used make it unlikely that normal criminal justice is being practised in this instance.
"It is hoped that further radio carbon dating will be able to define the date range much more closely and other scientific techniques such as isotope analysis may be able to establish the origin of the individuals; were they Saxons or Vikings?"
Since early June, archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology have been conducting the painstaking excavation of the mass burial pit within the relief road site.
They have carefully removed the decapitated skulls from the ground - 51 in total - which were placed in one distinct area of the pit.
Bodies to go with the skulls have been found randomly placed in the pit, which is thought to be an older quarry used out of convenience rather than one dug for the burial.
Angela Boyle, senior osteologist, said:
"All the remains uncovered are male and the overwhelming majority are aged from their late teens to about 25 years old, with just a small number of older individuals. As a general group they are tall, robust in stature with good teeth and appear to have had healthy lifestyles.
"Most of the skulls exhibit evidence of multiple blows to the vertebrae, jawbones and skulls with a large, very sharp weapon such as a sword.
"The lack of any other finds, such as those associated with clothing, indicates that they may have been naked when thrown into the pit. Samples of soil are being taken from around the bodies to test for indications of textiles which have rotted away."
Careful excavation of the remains is continuing and a more detailed analysis of the bones will be undertaken.
UPDATE: The BBC has picked up on the story with video.
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