I came upon a new video from the History Hit website about the interpretation of three skeletons found in what appears to be the site of the original chapel in Stirling Castle. They have been carbon dated to the period 1296 to 1357, which puts them in the time of the Scottish War of Independence down to 1328, or the later conflict in the 1330s when King Edward III backed Edward Balliol in his partially successful attempt to gain the Scottish crown against the minority government for King David II. I would imagine the more likely time that these individuals died was in the period up to the siege of Stirling Castle that culminated in the battle of Bannockburn in June 1314. All three skeletons show extensive signs of trauma at the time of death, and this is brought out very well by the expert’s analysis of the bones and the damage they had sustained.
There may be the possibility from the evidence of slight genetic abnormalities that the three were related. There is also a case made that they were of sufficient rank or status to be buried within the chapel, and presumably at a time when it was not possible to remove bodies to the nearby parish church or to a family estate.
It will be interesting to see what further historical DNA testing or scientific tests may reveal about these three individuals or indeed if they can be identified as happened with another skeleton found at Stirling who turned out to be an English commander from the fourteenth century. I do not know if the fragmented nature of the skulls would allow for facial reconstructions.
The video can be seen at Medieval Skeletons Reveal Brutal Final Moments
It makes for some quite gruesome but very interesting watching.
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