Stirling Castle skeletons show signs of brutal death

[Christa Jenneman]

Stirling Castle skeletons show signs of brutal death
scientist holding skull found at Stirling Castle Tests showed that at least five of the nine people suffered brutal deaths



    * Castle skeleton was English lord
    * Face of medieval knight revealed
    * Castle bones may belong to knight

Tests on the medieval skeletons of five people found buried at Stirling Castle have suggested they suffered "brutally violent" deaths.

Their remains were found along with those of four others during renovations of the castle's royal palace.

Scientists used radiocarbon dating to determine the nine people died between the 13th and 15th Centuries.

Archaeologists believe they probably died in sieges, skirmishes or battles during the Wars of Independence.

Stirling Castle changed hands several times in the wars, sometimes being held by the Scots, other times by the English.

In one case, a man - thought to be aged between 25 and 35 - had 44 fractures on his skull.

The tests, carried out at the University of Bradford, also showed a woman - aged between 36 and 45 - had suffered 10 fractures to the right side of her skull, resulting from two heavy blows.
'Battle trauma'

Neat, square holes through the top of her skull also suggested she had fallen and been killed with a weapon such as a war hammer.

One set of remains, known as Skeleton 190, were from a young man - aged between 16 and 20 - who showed signs of a stab wound in the chest.

He was also struck on the base of his skull, on the jaw, the collarbone and ribs.

The skeletons were buried beneath a lost 12th Century royal chapel, which was excavated as part of Historic Scotland's project to refurbish the castle's 16th Century palace.

Richard Strachan, Historic Scotland's senior archaeologist, said: "The skeletons were a remarkable find and provided an incredibly rare opportunity to learn more about life and death in medieval Scotland.

"The new research has brought some quite incredible results.

"It was unusual for people to be buried under the floor of a royal chapel and we suspected that they must have been pretty important people who died during periods of emergency - perhaps during the many sieges which took place.

"The fact that five of the skeletons suffered broken bones, consistent with beatings or battle trauma, suggests this could be what happened."

The team said it was not certain where the deceased were from, or who they were fighting for.

However, tests so far are consistent with at least some of them being from the Stirling or Edinburgh area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-13569885

[Christa Jenneman]

Face of Stirling Castle warrior reconstructed


Reconstructed image of knight's face
The skeleton of the knight was discovered during refurbishment work

A reconstruction has revealed the face of a medieval knight whose skeleton was discovered at Stirling Castle.

Experts are now attempting to discover the identity of the warrior, who is likely to have been killed in the 13th or 14th Century.

The skeleton is one of 10 excavated from the site of a lost royal chapel at the castle. The skeleton of a woman was found near the knight.

Forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black is leading the investigation.

It is believed the knight could have been killed during Scotland's Wars of Independence with England.
   
Techniques have advanced a long way and we can now tell much more about where people came from, their lifestyles and causes of death
Dr Jo Buckberry
University of Bradford

The castle changed hands several times and scientific tests have been used to work out whether the knight might have been a Scot, an Englishman or even French.

Efforts by Prof Black, of Dundee University, to find out more about the warrior's life and death will be featured in BBC Two's History Cold Case series on Thursday.

Richard Strachan, senior archaeologist with Historic Scotland, said the facial reconstruction gives a "powerful impression" of what the knight may have looked like.

"He was a very strong and fit nobleman, with the physique of a professional rugby player, who would have been trained since boyhood to handle heavy swords and other weapons and who would have spent a great deal of time on horseback," he said.

'Unusual' group

Historic Scotland, which cares for the castle, has announced it is commissioning further research to find out more about the 10 skeletons, which include two infants.

They date from the 13th to 15th Centuries and were found during preparatory work for a £12m refurbishment of the castle's Renaissance royal palace.

Biological anthropologist Dr Jo Buckberry, of the University of Bradford, is part of the team which will carry out the research.

She said: "Techniques have advanced a long way since the skeletons were discovered in 1997 and we can now tell much more about where people came from, their lifestyles and causes of death.

"This group is highly unusual, because of where and when the people were buried, suggesting that they might have been socially important and have died during extreme events such as sieges."

The facial reconstruction and other research results, will feature in a permanent exhibition due to open at Stirling Castle next spring.

History Cold Case - Stirling Man is being shown on BBC2 Scotland at 2100 BST on Thursday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/8687199.stm