THE BODY of a Roman man buried face-down with a knife in his back – and missing his feet – has sparked mystery at the site of a huge, newly-unearthed fort.
The eerie discovery was made in Spain, alongside the country’s largest-known Copper Age fort which dates back 5,000 years.
Archaeologists were perplexed to find a young Roman man buried face-down in the earth with a dagger on his back[/caption]
The corpse unearthed at the site of the largest-ever Copper Age fort found in Spain[/caption]
Archaeologists unearthed the huge ancient settlement during the construction of a vast solar power project in the modern-day town of Almendralejo, southwest Spain.
But the most puzzling find was the back-stabbed Roman, placed in the ground some 2,000 years after the fort shut down.
Questions continue to swirl about his last moments – including what happened to his feet.
The solar project was the work of Spanish energy giant Acciona Energia – and the company is now funding the preservation of the site.
The Copper Age complex spans 13,000 square metres – with three layers of walls, 25 towers and a deep defensive moat.
Known as Cortijo Lobato, the fort was used for around four hundred years – before being abandoned in roughly 2,500BC.
Arrowheads were found littered across the land, suggesting it coulf have been deserted after an attack, according to César Pérez, the chief archaeologist at the dig.
He also said there is evidence of a fire in the fort’s final days.
The man found face-down in the dirt did not perish during the fall of the fort, however.
The Roman, between 25 and 35 years old, was buried between the second and third centuries AD – at least two thousand years after the fort disappeared.
César told El Paid: “The presence of the pugio [dagger] in the burial, entirely intentional, is a way of indicating the social position of the person buried and his belonging to the army.
“The shallowness of the grave indicates hastiness and his position face down likely suggests a dishonourable burial.”
The team added that the surprise find remains a “real mystery”.
But they have a better idea about the fort’s final days.
This is the dagger – or ‘puglio’ – found buried with the man[/caption]
The site was littered with arrowheads, leading researchers to believe it had a violent end[/caption]
César said: “[The fort] had a violent end.
“We are seeing more and more in this type of site that the level of conflict in the Chalcolithic period was higher than previously thought.
“The sophistication of the defensive design and the need for a large workforce reinforce the idea of a structured and well-organised community.”
Victor Bazaga, the region’s culture minister, said: “There is only one similar site in the rest of Spain, in Almería, but this one is twice as large.”
And Jenifer Andreu, from Acciona Energia, said: “We had to modify the project to adapt the panel configuration to the different areas of the site.
“In the end, we managed to preserve the electricity generation capacity and protect all areas of archaeological interest.”
