Scientists have uncovered the aftermath of an “exceptionally violent” attack about 4,000 years ago in Somerset when at least 37 people appear to have been butchered and likely eaten. It is the largest case of violence between humans identified in early Bronze Age England, which had been considered a peaceful time. The victims’ bones were found by cavers in the 1970s. Experts believe the victims may have been eaten as a ritual to “dehumanise” them and to send a message by “insulting the remains”. The scientists do not believe the attackers ate the remains out of hunger because the fragments were found alongside animal bones, indicating there was sufficient food. The extensive dismembering of the bodies is the first documented case for this era.
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