A mass grave discovered decades ago in what is now Serbia contains the remains of at least 77 individuals, with a disproportionately high number of women and children, suggesting a targeted attack rather than a typical wartime massacre, researchers say.
The burial pit, measuring just under three meters across and half a meter deep, was initially found over 50 years ago by Yugoslav archaeologists near the village of Hrtkovci. Recent analysis, published February 23 in Nature Human Behaviour, utilized modern methods including DNA analysis and examination of bone morphology to determine the demographics of those interred.
The analysis revealed that over 60 percent of the remains are those of children, and more than 70 percent are female. Approximately 20 individuals identified as male or boys were also present, but researchers emphasize the significant imbalance. “It’s not a random difference,” said archaeologist Barry Molloy of University College Dublin. “There’s clearly a choice being made about who’s being killed.”
Mass graves resulting from indiscriminate killings typically exhibit a more even distribution of sexes, while wartime massacres often contain a higher proportion of men. The absence of young women and children from typical wartime scenarios suggests they were often taken as slaves, a pattern not observed at the Gomolava site, as the location is known archaeologically.
Researchers believe the massacre reflects a clash between different cultural groups vying for control of the area during the early Iron Age, a period marked by increasing violence following the introduction of farming to Europe between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago. Earlier archaeological studies indicate a shift from occasional raids to more organized violence as warfare evolved, peaking around the time of the Gomolava massacre.
The people buried at Gomolava were semi-sedentary farmers, according to previous research. Evidence suggests they were attacked by semi-nomadic herders from a different culture, potentially over land ownership. Researchers note that ethnological studies and indications that the victims were killed by blows from horseback support this theory. Two other branches of a farming culture were also present in the region, but located farther away.
“At Gomolava, we seem to have people who liked to control the landscape and use it in a farming way, and this other group looking to move through and keep it open,” Molloy said. “They essentially came into conflict over land ownership.”
The high proportion of women and children killed may indicate their elevated status within the farming community, making them specific targets. “Gomolava was at a flashpoint of all these different ways of using the land,” Molloy added.
Bioarchaeologist Mario Novak of the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb, Croatia, who led research into an earlier massacre near Potočani, Croatia, described the findings as “highly convincing.” However, he cautioned that the lack of written records from the period means the exact reasons for the massacre may remain unknown. “Unfortunately, we will probably never know the exact reason behind the tragic event.”
