Shattered skeleton in Scottish castle is first confirmed death from trebuchet “Devastation” across body of 14th century warrior indicates horrific demise from flying boulder 11 Aug 20263:10 PM ETByAndrew Curry

https://www.science.org/content/article/shattered-skeleton-scottish-castle-first-confirmed-death-trebuchet?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=857ea76744-nature-briefing-daily-20260812&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 Serious damage to an approximately 700-year-old skeleton is the first confirmed archaeological evidence of trauma caused by a trebuchet projectile. ‘Skeleton 150’, found beneath the chapel of Stirling Castle, Scotland, was fractured in more than 160 places, which indicates “a high-velocity, high-force, high-speed impact in a short amount of time”, says forensic osteologist Lukas Waltenberger. The shape and placement of the injuries rules out other, more obvious causes such as falling from the castle’s walls or being trampled by a horse, researchers say. The results were presented at the European meeting of the Paleopathology Association in Berlin last week.