Revealed, grisly fate of the Royalist troops crushed by Cromwell
It is a riddle that has endured from a little-known episode in one of the bloodiest eras of British history.
Some 5,000 Scottish soldiers, routed in battle by Oliver Cromwell at Dunbar in 1650 during the Civil War, were rounded up and marched more than 100 miles south to Durham.
About 1,000 men succumbed to starvation and disease on the march. A further 1,700 were reported to have died in just 50 days while incarcerated in appalling conditions in Durham Cathedral.
But for centuries, the question remained: If so many perished, what happened to their bodies?
Now, 365 years to the day since the Battle of Dunbar, scientists and archaeologists believe they have the answer, throwing new light on a brutal chain of events.
they are certain that 28 skeletons discovered two years ago are some of the ‘Dunbar Martyrs’ who in death were stripped naked and thrown into open mass graves without ceremony, away
‘The only plausible
explanation’
from public view. Sections of two graves were uncovered yards from the cathedral in 2013, when work began to build a cafe at the university library.
Archaeologists remove the skeletons, which were without clothes or possessions and lay in haphazard fashion.
Marks on teeth indicated some smoked long stemmed pipes, suggesting they must have been alive after 1612. they would have to have been buried before 1754, when a stable block was built on the site.
More evidence from their teeth showed most were from Scotland or northern England. A few were from northern Europe – from where mercenaries fighting with the Scots were known to originate.
Radiocarbon dating showed they almost certainly died between 1625 and 1660. No remains were female and they were predominantly aged between 13 and 25.
Bone and teeth analysis showed most suffered from poor nutrition. Most significantly of all, there was no evidence of trauma or bone fractures. this was a mass grave where the victims did not die in battle.
Andrew Millard, senior archaeology lecturer at Durham University, said identifying the bodies as the Martyrs of Dunbar was ‘the only plausible explanation’.
Dr Pam Graves, the team’s historical expert, said those taken prisoner at Dunbar were given barely any food on their five- day march south. Most of those who survived were imprisoned inside Durham Cathedral, which had been empty for five years.
In the cold, filthy and cramped conditions, disease spread rapidly, Dr Graves said. Despite claims the prisoners were well fed, it is widely believed cathedral guards sold their rations to merchants.
the Martyrs’ bodies are likely to be reburied locally but could be returned to Scotland. More work, including DNA analysis, could link the bodies to living descendants.