Archaeologists In Germany Dug Up Bone Pits, Individual Burials, And More At The Gallows In Quedlinburg, Which Were Created During The 17th Century And Saw The Executions Of Countless Criminals
The centuries-old gallows in Quedlinburg, Germany, is something that researchers have been aware of for years. The city became a bustling center of trade in the Middle Ages. By the late 17th century, the gallows had witnessed the executions of countless criminals.
Two years ago, a team of researchers from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt began conducting excavations in the area.
They dug up bone pits, individual burials, funerary items, and more. The remains offered a glimpse into how the execution process worked.
Business was booming in Quedlinburg during the Middle Ages. Of course, a thriving city attracted its fair share of criminals. So, a gallows was created in the 17th century. The site is believed to have featured a large wooden structure with an overhead beam. A noose would have hung from the beam.
Written records show that the first execution occurred in 1662, and the last took place in 1809. It was then that penal reforms led to the abandonment of public execution sites.
A wealth of artifacts was uncovered from the site, including ceramics, buttons, clothing, and other objects. Analysis of these personal items could help reveal how execution victims were treated before their deaths and what they were permitted to carry with them as they faced their punishments.
During the excavations, the archaeological team also unearthed a bunch of skeletons from at least 16 individual graves and two bone pits filled with human remains. The remains were stacked at random, indicating that the dead buried there were not well-respected.
“People were usually buried lovelessly in the ground like animal carcasses, without any sympathy or care,” said Marita Genesis, the lead archaeologist.
One of the most interesting discoveries was of a “revenant grave.” These types of graves belonged to individuals who were thought to possess supernatural abilities. They were meant for people who were supposedly vampires and witches with the power to rise from the dead.
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The revenant grave contained the remains of a man. Heavy stones were placed on his chest to prevent him from returning from the grave and haunting the living.
Not all the human remains near the gallows were associated with execution victims. There were the remains of a man nearby who was originally buried in a wooden coffin. The presence of three amber beads suggested that he had worn a rosary around his neck.
His skeleton was also well-preserved and positioned with folded hands. The researchers believe that he had taken his own life, rendering him unable to be buried on church grounds.
“This comparatively dignified burial suggests suicide rather than execution as the reason for the place of the burial. Suicide would have excluded a person from a burial in a regular cemetery,” stated IDW, a German news outlet.
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