Skeleton with 160 fractures at Stirling Castle may be first trebuchet death

A skeleton found beneath Stirling Castle in Scotland has been identified as likely the first archaeological evidence of a person killed by a trebuchet, a medieval siege weapon. Known as Skeleton 150, the remains show more than 160 separate fractures, including 61 breaks in the skull, a shattered right leg, and deep zigzag fractures across the ribs and shoulder. Researchers from the University of Bradford and Uppsala University presented the findings last week at the European meeting of the Paleopathology Association in Berlin.

The skeleton was uncovered in 1997 during excavations beneath the castle chapel, where five of nine burials date to the early 1300s. The period saw fierce fighting between English and Scottish forces during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Stirling Castle changed hands several times, and in 1304 English forces under Edward I laid a long siege, using trebuchets including one known as the War Wolf that could hurl boulders over 100kg. The pattern of injuries closely matches modern cases of high-velocity impacts such as car crashes, ruling out a fall or trampling.