Murder in the Middle Ages: Archaeologists find evidence of violence

Created: 12/22/2022, 5:30 am

By: Laura May

Three early medieval graves with bones were found on Saxhuberweg.

© H. Maass/Neupert, Kozik & SIMM

Archaeologists have found ancient graves in Taufkirchen - with evidence of an act of violence.

Taufkirchen

– New family houses are to be built on the corner of Saxhuberstrasse and Münchner Strasse in Taufkirchen.

Hundreds of years ago, people chose this spot as their place of residence - archaeologists found medieval graves during excavations in the course of construction work on Saxhuberweg.

Evidence of settlements there during the migration of peoples.

Evidence of human life in Taufkirchen dates back to the Neolithic Age, thousands of years before Christ.

Graves from the middle of the 7th century AD

"Wherever we have fresh water, people prefer to settle down," explains archaeologist and excavation director Hardy Maass.

During the excavations, he and his team found three early medieval graves from the middle of the 7th century AD, as well as cellars, pits and two small houses, the origin of which extends over four different time horizons - from the early Middle Ages to modern times.

From the finds, the researchers can draw conclusions about the forms of settlement, burial customs, trade relations and technological developments of the time.

According to Maass, the graves from the early Middle Ages are particularly interesting.

The archaeologists have found a total of three so-called court graves.

Two men and one woman were buried in it, probably under their houses or farms.

weapon on the skeleton

Maass can derive assumptions about the buried persons from the finds: A 50 to 60-year-old man was found in the first grave.

Archaeologists found a weapon in his tomb alongside his skeleton.

A “small, single-edged sword” – also known as a sax in technical jargon.

This hung on a belt set around the skeleton.

That is definitely a "funny coincidence," says Maass, since the grave of the older man with a sax was found near Saxhuberweg.

Archaeologists and Taufkirchner can only speculate about this connection - due to the connection between the weapon and the street name, the man found was baptized with the name Saxhuber.

Maass regrets that there is no funding for a DNA and C14 analysis of the skeletons.

"Then we would know more about the relationship between the Saxhuber and the lady." In addition, the following crime could possibly be uncovered centuries later.

skull smashed

In addition to the armed Saxhuber, a younger woman and a man between the ages of 30 and 40 were also found.

"His skull was smashed in and a knife was stuck in his body," says Maass.

Definitely murder.

What exactly happened there remains a mystery.

Whether the young woman was the Saxhuber's daughter or wife and whether the other man was possibly involved in a family drama can only remain part of speculation.

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Overall, the grave find is not a scientific sensation.

Similar excavations - most recently made public by the discovery of a Bavarian princess near Bad Füssing - are "relatively common", according to Maass.

"There have been people living for centuries who die and are buried." Nevertheless, the find allows conclusions to be drawn about how people used to live in Taufkirchen.

"Graves are always part of the cultural landscape in which they are embedded."