Cambridge burial pit on BBC Two Digging for Britain

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A group of students who unearthed what is believed to be a possible execution dig full of skulls and skeletons will feature on a BBC Two show.

A collective of Cambridge University students took to Wandlebury Country Park, near Cambridge, to unearth some artefacts on a training dig.

What they did find, however, was four complete skeletons and a number of skulls, including at least one decapitation, and a stack of legs.

The skeletons were in positions which suggest they were tied up.

It is believed that the pit could have been used for executions. (Image: David Matzliach/Cambridge Archaeological Unit/PA Wire)

It is understood that the finds may date from around the ninth century AD, when the area was a frontier in clashes between Vikings and Saxons.

Archaeologists think that the remains are all of young men, and that they may be from a mass execution or flung into a pit after a battle.

Dr Oscar Aldred, of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, who led the excavation, said that those in the put could have experienced "corporal punishment" and could be connected to Wandlebury as a sacred or well-known meeting place.

Cambridge University students have unearthed a burial pit in the region. (Image: David Matzliach/Cambridge Archaeological Unit/PA Wire)

One of the students who took part in the dig, Olivia Courtney, said: "Before we uncovered the first remains, our best find was a 1960s Smarties lid."

"I had never encountered human remains on a dig, and I was struck by how close yet distant these people felt.

"We were separated by only a few years in age, but over a thousand years in time."

A number of skulls were found in the pit. (Image: David Matzliach/Cambridge Archaeological Unit/PA Wire)

The fascinating discovery will feature on the hit BBC Two show, Digging for Britain, on February 4 at 8pm.

Historic England, which is supporting the excavation at Wandlebury, has commissioned a new geophysical survey of the area that archaeologists hope will reveal more about the site surrounding the burial pit.

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