In a chilling medieval mystery, archaeologists in Vienna have unearthed a mass grave containing the skeletons of over 100 individuals, far more than the 20 initially reported. The discovery was made during construction work on a soccer field in the Simmering district and has since been identified as a Roman-era burial site, not medieval. The sheer number of bodies, which were found haphazardly piled on top of each other, has baffled historians and archaeologists, who are now trying to piece together the grim story of what happened over 1,900 years ago.

Forensic analysis of the skeletons has revealed a horrifying truth: the individuals, all male and between the ages of 20 and 30, died a violent death. Their bones are riddled with fatal injuries, including wounds from swords, lances, and blunt-force trauma, ruling out a plague or famine as the cause of death. The chaotic nature of the burial, without any of the typical Roman funerary rites like cremation, points to a hasty interment following a “catastrophic military event.”

The discovery of this mass grave is a unique and monumental find for the entire Roman history of Central Europe. While battlefields have been found, this is the first time that archaeologists have unearthed the bodies of so many fighters. The site is only a few miles from Vindobona, a major Roman military fort that would later become the city of Vienna, and this battle may have been the catalyst for the fort’s expansion.