Knife marks were found on 137 bones dating between the 11th and 14th Centuries, discovered at Wharram Percy in Yorkshire. The remains of about 10 people had been decapitated and dismembered. Knife marks were mostly in the head and neck area but there was also evidence for the burning of body parts and deliberate breaking of some bones after death.
Experts said it was the first evidence of ancient [superstitious] practices to stop "corpses rising from their graves, spreading disease and assaulting the living".
Wharram Percy lies between Malton and Driffield, in East Yorkshire. It was once a thriving community built on sheep farming, but it fell into steep decline after the Black Death and was eventually completely abandoned. The long-abandoned village was excavated in the 20th Century.
