27/02/2026
‼️ Published Open Access ‼️ by joint first authors our own Dr Linda Fibiger and Dr Miren Iraeta-Orbegozo ( Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen /UCD School of Archaeology) in Nature Human Behaviour:
"A large mass grave from the Early Iron Age indicates selective violence towards women and children in the Carpathian Basin"
This study provides new evidence that the people buried together around 2800 years ago in Gomolava in the Southwest Carpathian Basin, experienced violent deaths, including bludgeoning and stabbing.
Unexpectedly, the genetic analysis revealed very few victims were related to each other. Isotopic analysis of their bones suggests they grew up in different settlements entirely.
In contrast to other mass graves of the time period, the site showed evidence of investment of time and resources in its preparation, experts say.
Read the article in full for FREE here:🔗 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02399-9
This work was funded as part of the European Research Council
funded project “The Fall of 1200 BC” led by Barry Molloy (UCD)
and involved an interdisciplinary team from institutions across Europe including the Museum of Vojvodina, The University of Edinburgh, Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen, UCD School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Universiteit Leiden / Leiden University, University of Kiel, University of Nottingham and others.
In this analysis of biomolecular and archaeological data from a ninth-century BCE mass grave in the Carpathian Basin, Fibiger et al. find evidence for the targeted killing of mostly unrelated women and children, challenging views of prehistoric violence.
