Medieval siege engine linked to 14th-century death after analysis of castle skeleton
Researchers have identified a 14th-century defender buried beneath Stirling Castle as the first archaeological case of a person killed by a trebuchet.
Skeleton 150, a defender interred beneath Stirling Castle’s chapel, exhibits an extensive array of injuries—over 160 fractures and a skull broken in 61 places—suggesting a sudden, powerful blow. The 1997 excavation uncovered nine skeletons, five dating to the 1300s, a period of intense Anglo-Scottish conflict. Jo Buckberry, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Bradford, and colleague Patrick Randolph-Quinney of Uppsala University analyzed the bones and concluded the trauma aligns with a large stone hurled by a trebuchet.
Contemporary siege accounts mention a massive engine dubbed “War wolf” used by English forces under Edward I in the 1304 siege of the castle. The burial inside the chapel, unusual for the era, supports the theory that the defender died during the siege when normal burial practices were impossible. While the exact trebuchet cannot be confirmed, the combination of forensic evidence and historical documentation provides a compelling explanation for the death.
Why it matters
It offers the first physical proof that medieval siege weapons could directly kill defenders, deepening our understanding of historic warfare.
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