Abstract
Budeč (Zákolany, Czech Republic) mass grave represents one of the most extensive archaeological examples of early medieval large-scale violence in Europe. This massacre dated to the 10th century may be hypothetically connected with the conflicts between members of the ruling family.
The mass grave uncovered in the vicinity of Budeč hillfort had consisted of about 60 male individuals with numerous perimortem sharpforce trauma situated mainly on cranial bones. Moreover, a number of men were decapitated.
Most of the individuals were robust with strong muscle attachment marks on bones. Men from the Budeč mass grave show different craniofacial values compare with individuals buried at local medieval burial sites.
The characteristic patterns of healed injuries may point on the presence of trained warriors. This paper presents new bioarchaeological data that help to reveal the origin and social status of these individuals.
Analyses of carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ 15N) stable isotope ratios were carried out for diet reconstruction. Individuals of non - local origin were documented by using stable strontium isotopes.
The ancient DNA (aDNA) extraction was successful from all analysed human teeth. Subsequently, mitochondrial DNA was confirmed in 10 samples from 12 by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing of the hypervariable regions I and II (HVRI and HVRII).
This analysis showed wide variability in obtained polymorphisms between individuals. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) for the next step will confirm the results and extend data by the whole mitogenome.The multidisciplinary study of the Budeč mass grave offers a unique insight into the composition and lifestyle of military retinues in the early medieval societies.