Human Remains of Sacrifice Victims Found by Workers

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
Engineers with Thames Water, a U.K. utility company were laying down pipes in Oxfordshire, 50 miles outside of London, when they unearthed various skeletons.

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This female skeleton was found with her feet cut off and placed by her side with arms bound behind her head. (Source-Thames Water)

Cotswold Archaeology excavated the site and examined the 26 skeletons found. They dated back almost 3,000 years to the Iron Age and Roman period. Most disturbing were indications some of them were victims of human sacrifice.

​The archaeologists believe these remains are part of a settlement that were involved in the creation of the "Uffington White Horse" a prehistoric chalked geo-glyph located on a hill nearby. Historians are not sure if the figure represents a horse goddess believed in by the local Belgae tribe, or the Celtic goddess Epona associated with horses.

​Others theorize it could be a dragon and not a horse, and representative of the dragon slain by Saint George. Found was evidence of dwellings, household items, animal carcasses including a horse's skull and personal items such as a decorative comb.

Neil Holbrook, chief executive of the organization said:

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The Iron Age site at Childrey Warren was particularly fascinating as it provided a glimpse into the beliefs and superstitions of people living in Oxfordshire before the Roman conquest. Evidence elsewhere suggests that burials in pits might have involved human sacrifice. The discovery challenges our perceptions about the past, and invites us to try to understand the beliefs of people who lived and died more than 2,000 years ago.

A bone comb from the late Roman or Anglo Saxon era was discovered at the site.(Source-Thames Water)

One female skeleton at the site was found buried with her feet cut off and placed side by side with her arms bound behind her head. Another skeleton appeared as if the person had been decapitated, as the skull had been placed at its feet.

​Worldwide there is evidence where ancient communities made animal sacrifices, but what would induce people to sacrifice another human being? Sometimes they were prisoners, other times it was to recover the favor of the gods after difficult times, or to make sure that they remained in favor or were victors in battle.

A year after Hernando Cortes conquered Mexico, the Acolhuas part of the Aztec empire, ambushed a Spanish convoy, killing and eating the captives over a  6-month period.

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Animal remains and skins were also found in the suspect's shrine (Source-Noeline Nabukenya) c.2024

But lest you think human sacrifice is something left behind in ancient times, in 2024 Ddamulira Godfrey a Ugandan man was found with 40 human skulls, some of them tagged with names of the deceased. It's suspected he used them for sacrificial purposes, which is in violation of the Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Act.

Authorities also found animal remains and skins inside Godfrey's shine located in the suburbs of the capital Kampala.

Cases of desecration of burial grounds are widespread in the districts in Buganda, Bunyoro and Busoga, where such practices are pronounced.

Godfrey claims he is a herbalist and traditional healer, who inherited his spiritual powers from his deceased father. These practices are secretly passed onto inductees like in the 2017 murder case, in which a skull of a child and five bodies, including one of a police Corporal Harriet Nabitaka, were found in a shrine in Kisoga village, Kayunga District. Employees of Muhamad Wamala testified in court that the so-called healer trained them, and others in carrying out human sacrifices to appease the spirits.

The Traditional Healers' Association has distanced themselves from Godfrey.

In July, 2024 police recovered 17 human skulls from a shrine in Mpigi, which is about 25 miles from Godfrey's location. This one also had indicators of human sacrifice. Tabula Lujja, who is accused of having a hand in the killing of a Buganda clan leader, Daniel Bbosa, earlier in 2024, is claimed to own the shrine.

There is a belief among the populace that magic charms made from human body part will bring good fortune to become rich, or to curse an enemy.

The police crime report shows that ritual killings nearly doubled from 46 cases in 2021 to 84 cases in 2023, and increased at around 17 per cent per year. Many suspect there are many more cases that are never recorded in the crime stats. The police reports show that crimes committed against people suspected to be in possession of witchcraft are among the major causes of mob action, murders and destruction of property in Uganda.

In many of the ritual killings, the suspects are often interested in the head, human blood and the private parts of their victims. Despite laws that could land a perpetrator in prison for life, the crimes continue to grow.

The skulls are often buried below the shrine's floor, while the human blood is kept in bottles or pots and other human bones stored in traditional baskets.

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Case of Charles Kato

On September 4, 2017, Charles Kato, a mechanic in Matugga, allegedly strangulated Maria Nabilanda and dumped her body near a swamp in Nyanama off Entebbe Road in Rubaga Division, Kampala City. Kato dashed to a shrine in Ssakabusolo, Nakaseke District to be cleansed of the spirit of the dead and also stop the police from pursuing the case.

Case of Kato Kajubi

The alleged killers of Senior State Attorney Joan Kagezi also visited the shrine with the belief the spirits would cleanse their sins and hold back the authorities from tracking them down.

Kato Kajubi, who was convicted of the murder of Joseph Kasirye, a 12-year-old boy, and mutilating his head and private parts for ritual practices on October 27, 2008, was re-arrested in a shrine in Lweza, Entebbe Road in December 2011. He had visited the shrine for spiritual healing after his disappearance before his retrial in the murder case. He was later convicted of murder but has since declined to reveal where he hid Kasirye’s head.