Unfortunately there is very little documentation about that period, so theories as to the possible reasons for the executions remain vague. ”Malling Down was part of a large religious estate, so it is possible that the executions were performed under the local Archbishop’s jurisdiction,” continues Chuter. “There would have been yearly law courts, and it is possible that this legal process led to the executions. But in normal mass executions of that kind you would expect to find a whole range of sizes, ages, and both male and female skeletons.” “As all these men were between 15 and 25, and all of solid build,” he says, “there is a possibility that they were from a raiding party which was discovered and executed. At that time there were a number of Viking raids on the south coast. Lewes was originally built as a defence fortification against these raids. So perhaps we are dealing with a group of Vikings or Scandinavians.”
It is possible, he tells me, to do isotopic testing on the teeth of skeletons in order to work out where the bodies originated from. They are currently awaiting funding for such tests to be done. “It could be that we are looking at Scottish or Italian bones. Or a group of local men. We will probably never know why these men were killed, but we will certainly get closer to the truth.”

The identity of the six headless skeletons is just one of the many archaeological finds which has been unearthed on Malling Down, an area rich in local history. Greg will be talking about this and other excavations made in the area, in what promises to be a fascinating talk. AL