17 Decapitated Ancient Roman Remains Found, And Nobody Knows Why They Were Killed

Live Science ^ | June 8, 2021 | Owen Jarus

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The cemeteries hold the burials of 52 people, and the 17 decapitated bodies include those of nine men and eight women and all over 25 years of age at time of death, a team of researchers reported in a paper published online May 19 in the journal Britannia.

In many cases, the heads of the decapitated individuals were buried beside their feet and pottery was placed where their head normally would have been. Some of the bodies were also placed prone (stomach down) in their graves...

During the third and fourth centuries there were numerous civil wars within the Roman Empire, with multiple people often fighting to be named emperor. Additionally attacks from so-called "barbarians" were a major concern at this time.

Despite possibly being executed, the individuals were still buried with pottery vessels and in some cases were placed in coffins.

"A decapitated female had by far the richest collection of grave goods, having been buried with two vessels and a necklace of cannel coal beads," Isabel Lisboa, the archaeologist who led excavations, told Live Science. Cannel coal is a type of coal that lights up easily.

"Under Roman law, family and friends could request the return of the body of an executed criminal for burial," the team wrote in the journal article.

[mware]

Like St. Paul, the form of execution for Roman citizen was beheading.

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After the first ten or so, you’d think it would have occurred to the later ones that, just maybe, it’s a good idea to not screw with the Romans.

[SunkenCiv]

I think the reason they were killed was, their heads were severed. /rimshot

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Tiberius embarks on a series of acts of debauchery, having sex with anybody he pleases, with Caligula a willing participant. Livia is shocked and Tiberius arranges to give her a horoscope for her birthday to suggest to her that she has not long to live. Augustus's son Castor is perturbed at the free hand given Sejanus in bringing to trial anybody Tiberius feels is opposing him but Castor's wife, Livilla, disagrees and is having an affair with Sejanus, ultimately poisoning Castor to get him out of the way.

I, Claudius Queen of Heaven Ep7 | July 21, 2016 | Great British TV Classics BBC ITV C4

(again, not a documentary, but wonderfully entertaining; also, I set the time index at 7:33 to skip that overlong ridiculous crap pile intro to this episode, which looks like something cooked up to indulge someone's career)