Suddenly, the group of people rushed into the biggest house in the fortress with lightning speed. Before people in the house could react, they all fell in a pool of blood, including children of several years old and dozens of old people. It all ended in the dark. But the murderer didn't leave, but quietly went to the houses around the big house, broke into houses and killed everyone he saw. One of them tried to escape, but failed. He was quickly pushed to the ground and a sharp axe smashed his head. ...
This is a real murder case that happened in Herun, Sweden in the 5th century. Who did this? Why are the means so cruel? An almost unexpected archaeological activity has brought the answers to these questions to the surface.
Inspiration from treasure hunters
Herun Island is the second largest island in Sweden, located in the Baltic Sea off the southeast coast of Sweden. Its terrain is gentle, the sea breeze is strong and the land is barren. However, the harsh natural conditions do not seem to affect people's love for this island. As early as thousands of years ago, people lived here, and now the island is still littered with bronze age tombs. Since then, people have been living here, so although the land is barren, there are many cultural relics buried under the land, which also attracts many treasure hunters. It is these people who led archaeologists to discover the murder case that happened more than 1000 years ago.
In 20 10, cultural relics protection workers on Herun Island found someone looking for gold coins around a fortress called Sandeby. Fort Sandeby was built in the late 4th century. This is an oval fortress with an area about the size of a football field. In good condition, its wall is about 4.6 meters high and once protected 53 houses and granaries in the fortress. Now there is only ruins left.
At first, archaeologists didn't know what they would find, and they didn't expect anything, because there were more than a dozen such forts on the island. They thought that Fort Sandeby wouldn't have anything as valuable as other fortress sites. However, for the sake of safety, they applied for the Sandeby Fort site protection project, which was approved.
However, with the progress of excavation, they were shocked by their discovery-they found a massacre site more than 0/000 years ago-that is, the murder mentioned at the beginning of the article.
Terrible crime scene
In 20 10, archaeologists explored the ground of the fortress with professional metal detection equipment and found five treasure sites. Besides gold coins, these treasures include silver brooches and bells, gold rings, amber and glass beads, and even necklaces made of cargo shells. The largest treasure is located in the center of the fortress, and it is also the largest house in the fortress. Its number is 40.
Strangely, although these treasures are buried in different houses, they are all buried on the left side of the gate, which seems to be agreed by the people in the fortress-if something happens to the person who hides the treasure, then the rest of the family can find the treasure at home according to this agreement. But why haven't these treasures been taken out, used or taken away by their owners?
On 20 1 1, archaeologists dug three trial pits at the site (including site 40) and found human leg bones! This has attracted the attention of archaeologists, because this is not a cemetery, why are there human remains? So archaeologists hope to find the answer from site 40. In this long archaeological activity, they made terrible discoveries.
By 20 15, at the end of archaeological activities, archaeologists found eight remains at Site 40, including the spine of a child aged 2 to 6. They all died tragically under sharp weapons. Among them, the teeth of sheep or goats were found in the mouths of two bones, which is the most vicious curse and is considered as a curse to prevent a soldier from entering the afterlife smoothly in the local area.
Archaeologists also found remains on the site next to No.40. Judging from the posture of the remains, they died very tragically. In one of the smaller houses, the body of a teenage man was lying on the ground, and his skull was split with an axe or sword. In the corner of the house, a man was killed on his knees, also by an axe or sword. Next to this man is the body of a young man lying on his back. In another house, the skeleton of an old man was lying by the fire, and his bones were burnt. The man may have died when he fell, otherwise he would have moved and wouldn't have been burned. Not far from the old man, they also found a child's leg bone. Archaeologists speculate that they may be grandparents and grandchildren.
After inventory, the remains of 14 were found in 2% of the excavated fortresses (mainly site 40). This means that all the people in the fortress may have been killed, and many bodies may still be buried in other numbered plots.
During the excavation, archaeologists found that there were no metal ornaments unique to local traditional clothes, such as belt buckles, beside these remains, and some bodies did not even find traces of cloth. This shows that these people were wearing light pajamas when they died, and may even be naked. In addition, they conducted metal detection outside the gate of Fort Sandeby, and found no metal weapons such as arrows. This shows that before the Sandeby Massacre, the gate was not breached and the people in the fort were killed without any precautions.
What a horrible scene that would be. Up to now, the atmosphere of terror here has not dissipated. It is said that residents nearby dare not play on the ruins of Fort Sandeby because they think it is haunted. Legend has it that the ghost of Fort Sandeby was once seen wandering in a nearby cemetery. ...
The reasons hidden in history
What kind of hatred makes the murderer not only kill everyone, but also curse that they will never live again? Archaeologists sorted out some clues and tried to restore the cause and effect of the incident.
From about 350 AD, some people who lived in Bornholm, Gotland and Herun in Sweden traveled thousands of miles to Rome to work as bodyguards for the Roman emperor. They are called Scandinavian warriors. In order to ensure their loyalty, the Roman emperor paid them high salaries. Usually when soldiers get gold coins, they will make special marks on them.
Around 450 AD, the Western Roman Empire declined, and the emperor could no longer hire bodyguards. Scandinavian soldiers returned to their hometown. But unlike Bornholm and Gotland, Herun is not suitable for agricultural production because of its poor land and bad climate. Therefore, many people began to pay attention to the glittering wealth of their neighbors, and some people became leaders by virtue of their earned wealth and prestige. The harmonious society on Erlan Island began to disintegrate, and the powerful people on the island began to compete for territory.
So, who attacked this fortress? Archaeologists believe that they are from the island and should still be powerful people. Because only the murderer came from this island, nearby residents would be afraid to bury the body and touch the things in the fortress.
So, why did they kill the people in the fort? Hector, another fortress on Elam Island, provides a clue. This fort is 32km away from Fort Sandeby and was built at the same time as Fort Sandeby. The difference is that it was used for centuries and kept well until the Middle Ages. When excavating this fortress, many traces of human life were found, which shows that this fortress is a settlement. In Fort Sandeby, except for corpses, jewels and some food scraps, no daily garbage and other traces of human life have been found. This shows that Fort Sandeby may only be a temporary shelter, and people in the fort may move in shortly before they die.
Archaeologists speculate that the cause of this massacre may be a power struggle. A Scandinavian warrior who returned to Herun Island, with the money earned from the Roman emperor and his prestige and ability (according to the data of archaeologists, 36% of the ancient Roman gold coins found on the island appeared in the area within the range of Sandeby Fortress 1.6km), became the leader of Sandeby Fortress and its nearby areas. Of course, he was not the only leader on the island at that time. Around 480 AD, there was a fierce power struggle on the island. In the war, the owner of Fort Sandeby was defeated and came to Fort Sandeby with his family and supporters. But in the end, it failed to escape the pursuit of the winner.
Although it seems reasonable, all this is just speculation. Fort Sandeby has not been completely excavated, and archaeologists need to find more evidence to confirm their views. Archaeologists believe that by continuing to dig at Fort Sandeby, we can learn more about the daily life of Scandinavians around 480 AD.