According to the findings of a recent study, a mystery chemical may have shielded the Heslington brain from being decomposed for centureis.

A mystery man was hanged by the rope and then ceremoniously beheaded sometime between 673 BC and 482 BC in an area that would one day be known as East Heslington York. His decapitated head was buried immediately after being put face down in a hole. Was this man a criminal who had been sentenced to death by tribal justice, or was he a sacrifice to satisfy their gods?

Heslington brain (left) & skull (right). © Mike Groves Researchgate

Ceremonial actions like this were fairly prevalent in Bronze Age and early Iron Age Europe. Both sacrifice and decapitation were performed to please their gods and to instil terror in their adversaries.

The severed heads and dead bodies were also employed as marks for sacred places of water by the ancient Britons and Celts. Later, severed heads were utilised as trophy displays for warriors and leaders alike to retell their combat stories and the grisly acquisition of the sacrificed human gazing at them through their vacant skeletal eyes.

An Iron Age man’s blackened skull was discovered in a flooded trench at site A1, Heslington, North Yorkshire, UK, in 2008. The skull and jaw were discoloured darkly and were lying face down. Excavators thought this individual was the victim of a ceremonial killing.

Though his identity was lost, his remains would astound the archaeological world by displaying his skull, neck, and well-preserved brain. Was the destiny of this guy, who was face down in a wet pit, ceremonial? Why was this person beheaded? And what caused his brain to be preserved?

A brief cultural history of the Heslington Man’s era

Those chosen for sacrifices in Iron Age Britain (800 BC – 100 AD) were either criminals or captives of war. People who were not prisoners of some sort were seldom sacrificed. As with the northern Lindow bog mummies, once these people were sacrificed, the majority of their remains were immersed face down in the water.

In some cases, such as the skull of an Iron Age lady discovered on the banks of the Sowy River in Somerset, archaeologist Richard Bunning believes her death was part of a ceremony, with her skull purposefully put in a watery environment. The ancient Britons believed that most bodies of water were portals into other realms, maybe where the gods lived.

However, only the head of the Heslington man, who was hanged and later beheaded, was buried. Was his case as formal as the others?

According to University of Leicester scholar Ian Armit, the human head had a significant connection with fertility, power, gender, and prestige throughout Iron Age Europe. This ritual was seen in recorded classical literature by evidence of the removal, curation, and exhibition of the head. This has traditionally been connected with a Pan-European “head cult,” which was purportedly utilised in prehistory to support the concept of an united Celtic civilisation (Armit, 2012).

The severed heads of their adversaries were embalmed and displayed by ancient Celts. These prizes were mentioned by the Greek authors Diodorus and Strabo. Both suggested that Celtic warriors used cedar oil to preserve the skulls of their foes.

The Greek sources detailed the ritual traditions of the ceremonial removal of enemy heads killed in combat in the instance of the ancient Celts. They were embalmed and displayed in front of the victor’s home. The sacrificed’s weapons would be laid with the chopped heads.

Several skulls were discovered alongside antique weaponry going back to the 3rd century BC, similar to the archaeological findings made in Le Cailar, France, a 2,500-year-old village on the Rhone River. Le Cailar was a Celtic town where the severed heads were possibly displayed until the region was abandoned about 200 BC.

These heads, according to researchers, were intended for the Celtic inhabitants to stare at in awe. This was in contrast to the traditional idea that severed heads served as warning signs for strangers entering the village. It was revealed that pinaceae oil was applied multiple times in order to preserve the skull.

Though ‘trophy skulls’ were highly valued in Iron Age European civilizations, there was no indication of embalming or smoking in the case of the Heslington skull. So the issue remains: why did his brain survive?

Heslington Brain: Archaeological finding