The human skull from the siege of la Loma (Santibáñez de la Peña, Palencia, Spain)

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the decapitated head found in 2020 under the collapsed wall of the Cantabrian oppidum of La Loma. This settlement was besieged and destroyed by the Roman Army during the Cantabrian Wars (29-16 BCE), either towards the end of the military campaign directed by Octavius Augustus (26 BC) himself, or during the subsequent campaign, commanded by Gaius Antistius Vetus (26-24 BCE). Radiocarbon dating, taphonomical and anthropological analysis, and DNA analysis assign the skull to one of the defenders of the hillfort. This man's head would have been exposed on the walls as a symbol of victory before they were razed to prevent reoccupation of the settlement.