Viking-Era Execution Pit at Wandlebury: 10 Bodies, Dismembered Remains and a Trepanned Skull

In the spring and summer of 2025, Cambridge University archaeology students on a training dig at Wandlebury Country Park made one of the most extraordinary finds in the region's history. In this interview, Dr Oscar Aldred from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) (who led the excavation) reveals what they found: a burial pit containing the remains of ten individuals, including dismembered body parts, decapitated remains, skulls without bodies, a "stack of legs", and four complete skeletons, some apparently bound. The pit is thought to date to around the 8th to 9th century AD, when Cambridgeshire was a contested frontier zone between the Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and East Anglia. Among the most haunting discoveries: an exceptionally tall young man — around 6 foot 5 inches, aged just 17 to 24, with a large trepanned hole in his skull, showing signs of healing. Archaeologists believe he may have had a pituitary condition causing excess growth hormones, and that the trepanation may have been an attempt to relieve the resulting pressure and pain. These are the first human remains found at Wandlebury since 1976. Wandlebury Country Park is owned and managed by Cambridge Past, Present & Future, a heritage and conservation charity. The University of Cambridge's Department of Archaeology and the Cambridge Archaeological Unit have conducted student training digs at the site for several years in partnership with the charity. As featured in BBC Two's Digging for Britain. 🌿 Find out more about Wandlebury: https://cambridgeppf.org/wandlebury-c... 🏛️ Cambridge Past, Present & Future: https://cambridgeppf.org Image credits: David Matzliach/Cambridge Archaeological Unit. Please note that the still images (2025) and video clips (2026) are taken at different training digs.