All of these bones showed evidence of traumatic injuries caused by fractures that occurred at or around the time of death, most likely caused by arrow trauma. The human remains analysed were 22 bone fragments and three teeth, including a near complete cranium, a left femur, a right tibia, and a left humerus. In the burial ground was a collection of disarticulated remains. Photo Credit: Oliver Creighton/University of Exeter Cranial injury detail of bevelling on the interior of the cranial puncture wound. This was the final resting place for the brethren and wealthy members of the population, including the local knights Sir Henry Pomeroy (d. The burial ground at the Dominican Friary was excavated by Exeter Archaeology between 19 in advance of the construction of the Princesshay shopping precinct in Exeter city centre.
Our study brings into focus the horrific reality of such an injury.” Clerical writers sometimes saw the injury as a divinely ordained punishment, with the ‘arrow in the eye’ which may or may not have been sustained by King Harold II on the battlefield of Hastings in 1066 the most famous case in point. “In the medieval world, death caused by an arrow in the eye or the face could have special significance. “These results have profound implications for our understanding of the power of the medieval longbow for how we recognise arrow trauma in the archaeological record and for where battle casualties were buried,” says Professor Oliver Creighton, an archaeologist from the University of Exeter who led the research.
The research, by a team based at the University of Exeter and published in the Antiquaries Journal, shows medieval arrows may have been designed to spin clockwise as they hit the victim.Ĭranial injury right-angled puncture over the right eye of the cranium.
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