In late 2016 and early 2017, Archeological work by Headland Archeology's Midlands and West Office was done in Hereford, England in the College Cloisters beside Hereford Cathedral. They were trying to make improvements to the building and facilities.
During this time they were able to excavate three skeletal remains. These three were radiocarbon dated to the 7th and 8th centuries. This was an interesting find as out of all 2456 burials excavated only one other person was found to be from the same time period. They were found at a depth of around two meters within an area formerly occupied by the 15th-century Custos Lodge.
It was found that the three skeletons were of one male, one female, and one juvenile whose gender was unknown. I could not find information about the child and female, but the male had died a brutal death.
The man was between 35 to 46 years old. He had lived and died between 680 and 780 AD. He had been stabbed at least 4 to 5 times with two of them being fatal on their own. However one of the wounds, a possible cut, on his elbow had traces of healing, unlike the rest. This meant this wound was older than the rest and was not from the time he died.
His attacker used a narrow, and very sharp blade to attack the man. They stabbed him at a downward angle and was possibly left-handed as the wounds were on the left side. Two of the wounds would have been deadly, but if he had somehow survived he would have been paralyzed.
The fatal wounds were stab wounds between the 8th and 9th ribs that would have punctured the spleen, stomach, or lungs. The second fatal wound was that the skull was hit with such a powerful blow from an edged weapon that the blade would have entered the brain. The lesser injury was on his thumb.
At this period at the beginning of the 8th century, the Welsh and English were in conflict. In 743 the kings of Mercia and Wessex teamed up together against the Welsh. This would cause violent skirmishes and battles at the time. There was one battle in 760 AD this was the battle of Hereford. It's possible that this man was a casualty of this battle. This may be why he seemed to have a healed stab wound.
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