A new study has overturned the long-standing belief that a violent Roman massacre occurred at Maiden Castle, a major Iron Age hillfort in Dorset, England. Published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, the research, led by Dr. Martin Smith and Dr. Miles Russell, used advanced forensic analysis and radiocarbon dating to examine 52 skeletons from the site. The findings reveal that injuries, once thought to result from a Roman assault in 43 CE, likely stemmed from ritualistic practices, scavenging animals, or inter-Briton violence over decades, rather than a single event. The massacre narrative was established by Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s excavations…
