STIRLING, SCOTLAND – A skeleton unearthed beneath the chapel of Stirling Castle in Scotland has been identified as the first confirmed archaeological case of death by trebuchet.
Known to researchers as Skeleton 150, the remains were among nine sets of bones excavated at the site in 1997, five of which dated to the 1300s. Several showed signs of violent death, but ‘skeleton 150’ stood apart. Bioarchaeologist Jo Buckberry of the University of Bradford, presenting the findings at the biennial European meeting of the Paleopathology Association in Berlin, counted more than 160 separate fractures across the man’s frame, including a skull broken in 61 places, a jagged shoulder fracture, and nearly sixty unusual zigzag breaks across the ribs. The findings have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
What the fracture pattern rules out
The injuries do not match a fall from the castle walls, since the damage was too widely distributed across the body. Trampling by horses and post-burial disturbance were also ruled out on the basis of fracture shape and bone texture. Working alongside Buckberry, biological anthropologist Patrick Randolph-Quinney of Uppsala University noted that the force had clearly passed through the chest, pinning the man to the ground almost immediately. Lukas Waltenberger, a forensic osteologist at Vilnius University who was not involved in the research, called the evidence convincing, noting the scale of energy delivered within milliseconds is rarely seen in remains from this period.
Why researchers point to a trebuchet
Buckberry searched forensic and modern medical literature for a comparable injury pattern and found the closest parallels in high-speed car and train collisions, injuries with no obvious precedent in a medieval context. The likely answer emerged from the historical record. During Edward I’s 1304 siege, English forces deployed several trebuchets against Stirling Castle, including one known as War Wolf, described by Buckberry as the largest trebuchet built up to that point and capable of hurling projectiles weighing more than 300 pounds. Contemporary accounts describe the machine tearing through stone walls as an arrow would fly through cloth. The castle’s governor attempted to surrender once he saw War Wolf nearing completion, but the surrender was refused and a missile from the trebuchet shattered a wall regardless. No surviving record mentions a human casualty directly, but researchers believe Skeleton 150 was struck from behind by a flying boulder, though it cannot be confirmed whether the projectile came from War Wolf itself or another siege engine at Stirling.
Burial inside the chapel, unusual for the period, further supports a death during active siege, when carrying bodies outside the walls may not have been possible. Stirling Castle, positioned on the principal route to Edinburgh and known as the gateway to Scotland, changed hands five times between 1296 and 1304 before falling to English forces.
About Stirling Castle
Perched on the flat top of an extinct volcanic outcrop above the River Forth, Stirling Castle has guarded the lowest crossing point of the river since at least the early 12th century, when it is first recorded as a royal residence under Alexander I. Its position between the Highlands and Lowlands earned it the description of the “brooch” holding Scotland together, and control of the castle was long considered synonymous with control of the country. Beyond the 1304 siege, the castle witnessed the deaths of two Scottish kings, the coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1543, and the baptism of the future James VI in 1594. From the 15th century onward it evolved from military stronghold into a favoured Renaissance residence of the Stuart dynasty, with much of the palace and Great Hall visible today dating from the reigns of James IV and James V. It remains one of Scotland’s most visited historic sites.
Official website of Stirling Castle
Fascinated by the layered histories hidden behind Europe’s best-known walls? Explore more of our Hidden Gems coverage across the continent’s lesser-known castles and gardens.
source: Science/AAAS, “Shattered skeleton in Scottish castle is first confirmed death from trebuchet,” Andrew Curry; Historic Environment Scotland, “History and stories: Stirling Castle”; World History Encyclopedia, “Stirling Castle”
