Experts finally solve mystery of strange skeleton with bones from five people who lived 2,500 years apart

Archeologists believe they've finally cracked the baffling puzzle which involves a skeleton made up of bones from five different people who lived 2,500 years apart.

Stumbling upon a gravesite from the ancient world isn't anything particularly new and at first it seemed like the site in the town of Pommerœul, southern Belgium was no different.

However the site would soon reveal a bizarre archaeological anomaly after radiocarbon dating of a skeleton revealed it featured bones from five different individuals.

So how the hell did this happen?

The unique nature of the burial intrigued archaeologists (Barbara Veselka et al, Antiquity)

The skeleton was discovered back in the 1970s and assumed to be from the Roman era, around second or third century AD. This was also backed up by the discovery of a bone pin recovered near the skull, which was common for the time.

However the fetal position which the skeleton was found in intrigued experts, as this was uncommon for burials of the time.

Fast forward to 2019 and the remains were sent for radiocarbon dating, which revealed the skull was in-fact from the Roman era, and belonged to a woman who lived sometime in the period of A.D. 69 to 210.

However, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the body.

Other bones found in the grave dated back to the Stone Age period, suggesting the skull had been added at a later date by people in the Roman era.

Speaking about how researchers believed the 'skeleton' came to be, Barbara Veselka - archaeologist at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and study lead - explained it was likely the the burial was 'was made at once' and was later revisited by others.

The skull found at the site, which dates back to the Roman era (Barbara Veselka et al, Antiquity)

"There were other bones scattered around the 'individual,' suggesting that people could also have come back to the burial," she explained to Live Science.

As for the 'why' aspect of the burial, researchers believe 'superstition' would have played a role in assembling the skeleton.

"Disturbance of the burial may have necessitated reparations through the completion or construction of an individual with agency in the afterlife," the study reads.

"A second possibility is that the entire ‘individual’ was assembled during the Gallo-Roman period, combining locally sourced Neolithic bones with a Roman-period cranium."

So a group of 'superstitious' Romans stumbled upon the site and uncovered the incomplete skeleton, and then decided to complete the body with the skull of a more recently deceased person. The exact reasoning is unclear, however the study concludes the burial was 'clearly intentional'.

The bones are believed to be made up of five different individuals (Barbara Veselka et al, Antiquity)

"The bones were selected, a fitting location chosen and the elements arranged carefully to mimic the correct anatomical order," the study adds.

"The resulting burial implies great care and planning, as well as a good knowledge of human anatomy."