[SunkenCiv]

If you'd read the article, you'd find that the decapitations were post-mortem, so, no, not execution by beheading.

[GingisK]

I did read the article; however, snide comments are just plain fun.

I do think that the culture in those days, such that it was, would have numerous reasons for separating heads from bodies. Given the reasons for this are not obvious, mass beheading still comes as no surprise.