A new study of 130 Iron Age bodies from 5 sites in Somerset has been undertaken by Cardiff University, revealing the mysterious ways in which human remains were treated. It seems graves were revisited once soft tissue had degraded, with bones extracted and circulated or curated before being deposited elsewhere. Of the five sites, only Glastonbury Lake Village indicates the exposure of remains, with stronger evidence instead pointing to the curation of trophy skulls, from defleshing to polishing and final display of the human skulls. Although macabre to modern western society, it seems graves were revisited once soft tissue had degraded, with bones extracted and circulated or curated before being deposited elsewhere. The new information will be presented on Digging For Britain on the 19th of December. Isotope anlaysis of 40 of the individuals has shown that four of them came from continental Europe, three probably from Iberia and one from Brittany.

Link to Cardiff Univ page