A mysterious mass grave having 20 medieval skeletons was unearthed by city workers exploring an old moat, as per reports. The remains are thought to belong to men, who were aged between 15 and 30, all who lived between the Late Middle
Ages and the 18th century.
The crew who were conducting the excavation in Vianen, Netherlands also discovered rusty nails nearby suggesting the bodies were once in a coffin. Archaeologists now believe that there can be more remains in the area that was just outside the grounds of Batestein Castle, as reported by Mail Online.
Mass Grave Discovered in Netherlands
In the beginning, the workers thought there were only nine rotted bodies when they unearthed them on Friday. But as they further explored the grave they discovered 11 more, as per reports, all of which that were stacked on the top of each other.
The team expected to discover artefacts like the buttons or jewellery spotted old nails among the remains, pointing to the idea that this might have been a mass murder. It also raised the suspicion that the bones were discovered outside the 14th century castle that was once affected by hardship.
In 1567, the surrounding got overrun by the Spanish Army, and after a century, the castle got partially destroyed by the fireworks and never rebuilt. The parts of the castle that survived is a decorative gate and some of the connecting walls.
The mass grave raised many questions as one archaeologist told Alkhaleej Today, "Why are these people lying here? What caused them to die? Could it be related to historical events?". The bones are now getting collected and are going to be taken to a specialist for a deeper analysis. "There is no doubt that there is more. The size is not yet known. That is why an even larger area is being investigated," another expert mentioned.
