The darker angels of our nature
Early Bronze Age butchered human remains from Charterhouse Warren, Somerset, UK
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3351607 |
|---|---|
| Authors | R J Schulting (0000-0002-4444-766X, University of Oxford, corresponding author), Teresa Fernández-Crespo (0000-0001-5553-8578, Universidad de Valladolid), Javier Ordoño (0009-0000-5295-5309), Fiona Brock (0000-0003-0728-6091, Cranfield University), Ashleigh Kellow (Cranfield University), Christophe Snoeck (0000-0003-3770-4055, Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Ian R Cartwright (University of Oxford), David M Walker (0000-0003-1930-8606), David Walker (0000-0002-1276-4505), Louise Loe (0009-0009-6727-3306, Oxford Archaeology), Tony Audsley |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue | 403 |
| Pages | 101-117 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Antiquity (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744 |
| Publisher | Antiquity Publications (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.15184/aqy.2024.180 |
| OpenAlex | W4405412663 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 37 |
Direct physical evidence for violent interpersonal conflict is seen only sporadically in the archaeological record for prehistoric Britain. Human remains from Charterhouse Warren, south-west England, therefore present a unique opportunity for the study of mass violence in the Early Bronze Age. At least 37 men, women and children were killed and butchered, their disarticulated remains thrown into a 15m-deep natural shaft in what is, most plausibly, interpreted as a single event. The authors examine the physical remains and debate the societal tensions that could motivate a level and scale of violence that is unprecedented in British prehistory
Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Bronze · Bronze Age · Ethnology · Geography · Interpersonal violence · Poison control · Prehistory · Suicide prevention · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History · Medicine
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| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |