The young victims of unspeakable cruelty were uncovered by anthropologists at the universities of Coimbra and Évora who discovered three medieval skeletons, with their hands and feet buried nearby.
The victims of this violent punishment were aged between 18 and 35 and were found by the anthropologist, Teresa Fernandes, of the University of Évora during "excavations carried out in 2001 in the medieval necropolis of Rossio do Marquês de Pombal, in Estremoz which dates from the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries."
This is the "first case in the world of finding three skeletons with amputations of hands and feet in the same necropolis," according to researchers at the University of Coimbra, "previous studies only report the discovery of a body."
The results of the investigation indicate that the men "were victims of a judicial punishment," says Eugénia Cunha, from the university.
"The characteristics of the cuts inflicted show that these were intentional and had been applied as a form of violent punishment," says the researcher.
The three corpses were "buried in graves located side by side in the southern corner of the cemetery," says Cunha, adding that "The mutilated hands and feet were placed under or near the bodies."
"The fractures suggest that the feet were cut off with a strong blow," reads the report, noting that "these and other signs allow us to conclude that this barbaric procedure was done with a sharp instrument, such as a sword or an axe."
The area was an important one with a castle and royal court, two institutions that often seem to dish out violent punishments - pour encourager les autres.
Another reason "lies in the fact that dismemberment is a form of punishment carried out in the medieval period to denigrate the body. This has social meaning and dissuades the population from acts where this is the punishment," the researchers add.
"With these results, it is possible to establish relationships and create a socio-cultural and historical framework that helps us to understand the evolution of punishments in Portugal," concludes Cunha.
