KIEL, GERMANY—According to a statement released by Kiel University, the remains of 38 people have been found in a ditch at Slovakia’s site of Vráble-Ve’lke Lehemby, which consists of three villages made up of more than 300 dwellings associated with the Linear Pottery Culture. The site has been dated to between 5250 and 4950 B.C. All of the skeletons, except for that of a single infant, were missing their heads, while the jumbled positions of the bones suggest that the bodies had been thrown or rolled into the ditch. It is not yet clear if the people had been killed by decapitation, or if their heads had been removed after death. Research team member Katharina Fuchs of Kiel University said that some of the bones were out of anatomical position, indicating that decomposed remains may have been pushed into the middle of the trench to make room for additional bodies. Further study will try to determine the ages of the dead, if they were related to each other, and if they lived in the area. To read about a DNA study of victims of a brutal massacre some 5,000 years ago in Poland, go to "We Are Family."
