Archaeologists have uncovered chilling evidence of a large-scale massacre from about 2,800 years ago in what is now northern Serbia.
The discovery, made at the Gomolava site, shows that women and children were deliberately targeted in one of the most disturbing episodes of prehistoric violence found in Europe.
The grave contained the remains of more than 77 people who died violently, many from blows to the head or stab wounds.
What surprised researchers most was who the victims were. The majority were women and children, including 40 children between the ages of 1 and 12 and 11 teenagers. Among the adults, nearly nine out of ten were female.
Only one infant in the grave was male.
At first, scientists assumed the victims were likely families from a village destroyed in an attack. However, genetic testing revealed something unexpected.
Most of the individuals were not closely related to one another, meaning they did not belong to a single community. Even distant family connections were rare.
This suggests the victims may have been captured from different settlements and brought together before being killed.
Further clues came from chemical analysis of teeth and bones, which showed that the victims had grown up eating different diets. This supports the idea that they came from various regions rather than a single town.
Researchers believe the women and children may have been forcibly displaced or taken prisoner before their deaths.
The killings appear to have been deliberate and symbolic rather than the result of a sudden raid. In many prehistoric mass graves, bodies are thrown into pits quickly with little care.
At Gomolava, however, the victims were placed inside a disused underground house along with personal belongings such as bronze jewelry and ceramic drinking vessels. Animal remains, including a butchered calf, were buried with them, and objects like broken grinding stones and burnt seeds were laid over the grave.
These details suggest a ritual burial carried out after the massacre, possibly to send a message to others. Researchers believe the violence and the careful burial that followed were part of a broader struggle for power and territory during a turbulent period at the start of the Iron Age.
Around this time, communities in the region were building fortified settlements and reclaiming older sites from the Bronze Age. Competing claims over land and resources may have sparked conflict between groups, including farming communities and mobile herders. The massacre may have been intended to intimidate rivals and assert control over valuable territory.
The discovery provides rare insight into how organized violence shaped prehistoric societies. It shows that even in ancient times, warfare could involve targeted attacks on vulnerable groups as a way to demonstrate dominance.
By combining archaeology, genetics, and chemical analysis, researchers are beginning to piece together a clearer picture of life—and death—during this violent chapter of European history. The Gomolava grave stands as a powerful reminder that struggles over land and power have deep roots stretching back thousands of years.
