Himera was situated at the border between the Greek colonies of Sicily
In the end, the Carthaginians took Himera and razed the city to the ground. I vividly remember staring at my feet for traces of blood left by the scores of soldiers who lost their lives on this soil.
When modern road works were carried out in the area, the grim contents of seven mass graves were discovered, exposing thousands of skeletons of the brave men aged between 15 and 57. The high concentration of male skeletons and the deep wounds they incurred also link the graves to both fierce battles. Amazingly the bodies have been neatly arranged in an orderly fashion, a true proof of reverence for the dead.
Another thirty burial sites near the mass graves was reserved for the horses, most probably the soldiers’ mounts that died with them on the battlefield – according to experts they are related to the severe clash of 480 BC.
The battle of 409 BC, on the other hand seems to have affected the entire population of Himera since hundreds of skeletons both male and female of all ages were piled up chaotically and buried in a hurry by the survivors. Their remains have been found in front of the city walls and in the eastern part of the necropolis.
The necropolis proper used by the civilians yielded a wide array of graves ranging from mere dug-outs to wooden coffins, stone sarcophagi, and cremations. It is noteworthy that many skeletons of newborn babies were found as they were placed in terracotta amphorae as the rate of infant mortality was high at the time. During close analysis of the remains, one case of cranial surgery performed on a 19-21 year old girl was established. This intervention dates from between the 6th and 5th century BC and testifies of advanced medical skill for that era.
Finds from the necropolis of Himera, the largest ever discovered in Sicily Palermo
I assume that the majority of the 480 bc skeletons were Carthaginian; they would have been buried by some of the 50,000 prisoners, hence the care and reverence for the dead soldiers. But I am suspicious of the many infant graves on top of these. There would be remnants of disease in the corpses. If not, I’m wondering if they were sacrificed. Child sacrifice was being practiced at the time by Carthaginians to affect the outcome of battles. They would sacrifice hundreds of their own children in a single event.
ReplyDeleteThe Carthaginians did indeed practice child sacrifice, but I doubt it would have been the case in Himera. Carthaginians did not take their children to the battlefield, did they?
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