The young man's remains, which researchers call Skeleton 150, were discovered in the Stirling Castle chapel alongside seven other medieval burials in 1997. In medieval times, the vast majority of people were buried in their parish church cemetery, so finding eight skeletons underneath the royal chapel was a surprise, Jo Buckberry, a biological anthropologist at Bradford University in the U.K., said in a research presentation Aug. 5 at the 25th European Paleopathology Association meeting.
All eight medieval skeletons buried in the castle had evidence of trauma inflicted on them around the time of death, including wounds from blunt objects, projectiles and a sharp blade, likely from a sword or knife. But only Skeleton 150 had a massive number of fractures.
Buckberry and colleagues meticulously studied all 167 fractures in the bones of Skeleton 150. They discovered that he had sustained 61 separate fractures to his skull and 57 rib fractures, in addition to breaks in his vertebrae, arms and right shoulder. But most of the damage was to the upper half of the man's body, and the fractures had an unusual zigzag pattern not usually seen in archaeological skeletons.
A carbon-14 analysis of the mysterious burials in the castle showed that Skeleton 150 dated to about 1300, in the middle of the First War of Independence and around the time that King Edward I of England was testing the use of siege engines in war, Buckberry said. Getting hit by a high-velocity projectile shot from a siege engine could possibly explain Skeleton 150's copious fractures.
"It's difficult to say whether or not the War Wolf was the weapon that caused the death of the individual, but it is likely that it was a siege engine similar to that that caused his demise," Buckberry said. "The trebuchet is the most likely."
RELATED STORIES
2,000 years ago in Scotland, people removed a corpse's brain and fashioned the arm bones into toolsAncient ring discovered underground in Scotland could be a Stonehenge-like monumentStone Age tombs in Scotland reveal 'webs of descent' among male relatives
When Skeleton 150 was excavated from Stirling Castle in the late 1990s, researchers assumed that all of his bony fractures were postmortem, perhaps caused by accidental trampling of the remains. But by using novel techniques developed over the past 30 years — including micro-CT scanning and 3D scanning, Buckberry was able to figure out that the fractures occurred around the time of death rather than after. And this allowed her to determine exactly how this Scotsman, who died in his 20s, perished over 700 years ago.
Can you identify these historical objects of war? Test your smarts with our weapons of the world quiz!
Hence then, the article about skeleton with 167 fractures discovered at scottish castle may have been first victim of edward i s war wolf trebuchet was published today ( ) and is available on Live Science ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Skeleton with 167 fractures discovered at Scottish castle may have been first victim of Edward I's 'War Wolf' trebuchet )
Also on site :
- 1988 Rock Song by Iconic Supergroup, Written Mainly by George Harrison, Is Still an Iconic Hit 38 Years Later
- Nocpix Nature lanza Rovex, una solución térmica de gran pantalla para una detección de aves más rápida
- ‘Princess Diaries’ Star Heather Matarazzo ‘Devastated’ Over Hayden Panettiere’s Death at 36: ‘She Was Special’