Somersham headless bodies were victims of Roman executions
A cluster of decapitated bodies discovered at a burial site were probably from victims of Roman military executions, archaeologists have said.
The "exceptionally high" number of 3rd Century decapitated bodies were found at a military supply farm settlement at Somersham, Cambridgeshire.
At least one of those executed - an older woman found face-down - appears to have been tortured immediately before death or mutilated afterwards.
Dr Lisboa, from Archaeologica, said they dated from a time of increasing instability for the Roman Empire, when legal punishments became harsher.
"As it was part of the Roman army, directly or indirectly, the severity of punishments and the enforcement of Roman law would have been more severe at the Somersham settlements," she said.
The settlement is believed to have supplied the Roman army, part of a wider network of nearby military farms at Camp Ground and Langdale Hale.
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