Posted on 09/12/2006 2:45:57 PM PDT by blam
Skeletons of bloodiest day
By Nadia Jefferson-Brown
SKELETONS bearing marks of horrendous sword injuries have been unearthed beneath a North Yorkshire hall.
The victims of a medieval battle were discovered beneath the floor of the dining room of Towton Hall, between Tadcaster and Sherburn-in- Elmet, dating from the Battle of Towton in 1461.
The discovery was made as part of a ten-year investigation into the archaeological evidence of the longest and bloodiest battle ever fought in England.
Taking place on Palm Sunday, March 29, 1461, the Lancastrian army was handed an enormous blow with its leader, King Henry VI, forced to flee. He was defeated by the self-proclaimed Edward IV.
continued... After ten hours of combat at the battle, near Tadcaster, 28,000 men lay dead. The latest find was instigated following the unearthing of a mass grave at the hall in 1996, which contained 37 battle victims.
The latest evidence and gruesome accounts of the War Of The Roses clash, and its victims will be presented at a one-day conference on Wednesday, October 4, at 9.30am at the Yorkshire Museum in York. Tickets are £19.50.
The Battle of Towton took place in a snowstorm, between the villages of Towton and Saxton, about two miles south of Tadcaster.
The Towton Battlefield Archaeological Survey, directed by Tim Sutherland, of the University of Bradford, has reassessed evidence of the battle through large-scale investigations across the battlefield landscape and has re-evaluated the documents.
The project, the first multidisciplinary investigation of a medieval battlefield in this country, has also discovered large numbers of arrowheads and further mass graves, making it possible to accurately locate the site of the battle. Further work in the area of Towton Hall has also led to the unearthing of several single graves of combatants.
The most recent excavation, funded by the Royal Armouries, Leeds, under the dining room of Towton Hall revealed a further multiple grave containing soldiers with battle injuries.
It is possible these are the remains of high-ranking combatants buried on what was later to become the site of King Richard III's chantry chapel built to commemorate the conflict.
Body count. The Mongols rode off the battlefield at Leignitz with 40,000 right ears in potoato sacks.
Interesting link.The skull in the pic looks like it was bashed in by a mace.I'd say life was short and quite often violent back then.
How could so many men have enough food to eat during such a long winter in England? How could livestock be kept alive? Perhaps the battle deaths were in lieu of starvation. The survivors didn't have to share dinner with quite so many other hungry mouths.
In addition to Blam's comments, the fact that it was cold may have contributed to their preservation. Cold slows down decay, and also dessicates. Another factor, we may be seeing the best preserved remains as selected for photography. ;')
The Somme figure is the record (AFAIK) for one day's dead -- in one army. And the Somme should be on anyone's list of battles which displayed really stupid leadership on one side. But anyway, just for the sake of argument...
The dead at Towton was on both sides, combined; as it noted above, there was indeed one army that tried to get out, and was trapped against a river (poor discipline, or a number of higher-ups made their getaway, leaving the rest without leadership, or perhaps some of the mercenary muscle hadn't been paid anyway, and decided to vamoose); and the eventual winner declared there would be no quarter, so the fighting on both sides must have been merciless. Henry VI was a bit of a nutbar, and that could have had an impact on Lancastrian morale.
The builds of these skeletons are said to be larger and burlier than the usual surviving human remains from the period, which means they probably didn't have to wait in line at the buffet table. ;') "I'll take that, peasant!"
In those times, often whole villages (animals,women and children) moved with the army/fighters and were encamped somewhere close in the region.
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Hmm, it appears meeting them in the middle of a day lit field somewhere is not a recipe for a happy day either...
I remember this. Some things never get old.
i didnt think it was possible, but looking at those skeletons made me like guns even more.
British History's Biggest Fibs With Lucy Worsley - Episode 1: War of the Roses - Full Documentary
British History's Biggest Fibs With Lucy Worsley - Episode 2: The Glorious Revolution
British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley Episode 3: The Jewel in the Crown
Recently watched a documentary on the burials at Towton. The documentary was probably made several years ago. Never get bored of this stuff!
The difference is battles of the US Civil war usually ended indecisively while medieval battle frequently ended in a rout.
Medevial routs, which usually involved the whole army, are when most casualties happened since once routed soldiers were out of their close combat formations they were more vulnerable.
Civil war soldiers, even when routed had covering fire from unbroken artillery and infantry units. It was rare for a civil war army to actually make an effective pursuit against a routed foe.
Take one of the worst cases. Chancellorsville. Jackson was eventually stopped by unbroken Union infantry and artillery.
Here’s the video describing the studies of the dead warriors of Towton. One wonders where the money comes from for studies so intense
The battlefield is shown in some detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvvhtIx2DRc
Thanks, some of the UK stuff gets done on lotto money.
Thanks for the link bert!
Ping to post 76.
Lotto....Hmmm. Then I thought of the dectorists
There is a Brit TV program called the Detectorists that is comedy revolving around a group or club of metal detector super enthusiasts. If they do discover treasure, they must turn it in. The dug antiquities might pay
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