• Illustration of the Iron Age mass grave at GomolavaSara Nylund Illustration of the Iron Age mass grave at Gomolava Sara Nylund Women and children may have been deliberately targeted in one of the largest prehistoric mass killings discovered in Europe. • Buried together in one grave more than 2800 years ago, most of the 77 victims suffered violent deaths in what seems to have been an intentional act. • The mass grave was found at Gomolava, an early Iron Age site in the Carpathian basin in what is now Serbia. • The place is an artificial mound known as a tell, formed by the accumulation of debris from thousands of years of human habitation from the late 6th millennium BC, including collapsed mud-brick structures, pottery and organic material. • Read moreWhat were ancient humans thinking when they began to bury their dead? • Read more What were ancient humans thinking when they began to bury their dead?

Article Summaries:

  • A mass grave at the Iron‑Age site of Gomolava in Serbia contains 77 victims, most of whom were women and children. New skeletal analyses show unhealed head injuries, defensive wounds and projectile trauma, indicating deliberate violence rather than disease. DNA and isotope studies reveal that the individuals were not closely related and had varied childhood diets, suggesting they came from different communities. The massacre, dated to the 9th century BC, coincides with conflicts between mobile pastoralists from the Eurasian steppe and local farming groups re‑occupying ancient tell sites. Researchers argue the targeting of non‑combatants may have been a message of dominance or a response to land disputes.
  • Women and children may have been deliberately targeted in one of the largest prehistoric mass killings discovered in Europe. Buried together in one grave more than 2800 years ago, most of the 77 victims suffered violent deaths in what seems to have been an intentional act. The mass grave was found at Gomolava, an early Iron Age site in the Carpathian basin in what is now Serbia. The place is an artificial mound known as a tell, formed by the accumulation of debris from thousands of years of human habitation from the late 6th millennium BC, including collapsed mud-brick structures, pottery and

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