'Something horrible': Somerset pit reveals bronze age cannibalism

A collection of human bones discovered 50 years ago in a Somerset pit are evidence of the bloodiest known massacre in British prehistory - and of bronze age cannibalism, archaeologists say.

- Esther Addley

At least 37 men, women and children were killed at some point between 2200 and 2000 BC, with their bodies thrown into a deep natural shaft at Charterhouse Warren, near Cheddar Gorge.

The first significant scientific study since the bones were unearthed in the 1970s has concluded that, after violent deaths, the individuals were dismembered and butchered, and at least some were eaten.

While many of the skulls were shattered by the blows that killed them, leg and arm bones were also cut away after death to extract the bone marrow. Hand and feet bones show evidence of having been chewed by human molars.