Archaeologists Found a Shattered Skull at 'Ghoulish' Scene — It May Be a Celtic Warrior
The Roman Army went to war with a group of fierce Celtic Warriors in the area that is now northern Spain. A group of archaeologists believes the brutal battles that resulted led the Romans to create a "ghoulish" scene at one besieged settlement as a threat or taunt.
They displayed a severed head to intimidate their opponents. The archaeologists pieced together the grisly scene after discovering a shattered skull from the ancient settlement. Researchers conducted "an analysis of the decapitated head found in 2020 under the collapsed wall of the Cantabrian oppidum of La Loma," according to a journal article by a group of researchers, which was published in November 2025.
The Experts Believe the Roman Army Displayed the Decapitated Head on a Wall as a 'Symbol of Victory'
The skull was discovered at a settlement that dates to the Cantabrian Wars. The victim was likely a Celtic Warrior who lived in a northern region of Spain. Such Celtic warriors were known as the Cantabri.
According to Britannica, Cantabri were an "ancient Iberian tribe thought to have a strong Celtic element; its people were subdued by the Romans after protracted campaigns beginning before 100 bc. Regarded as the fiercest people of the peninsula, they were finally subjugated by Rome in 19 bc."
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"This settlement was besieged and destroyed by the Roman Army during the Cantabrian Wars (29–16 BCE), either towards the end of the military campaign directed by Octavius Augustus (26 BC) himself, or during the subsequent campaign, commanded by Gaius Antistius Vetus (26–24 BCE)," the researchers wrote.
"Radiocarbon dating, taphonomical and anthropological analysis, and DNA analysis assign the skull to one of the defenders of the hillfort. This man’s head would have been exposed on the walls as a symbol of victory before they were razed to prevent reoccupation of the settlement," explained the researchers.
The skull's remains were "scattered, but they clearly belonged with the layer of debris associated with the collapse of the walls of the oppidum after Roman occupation. There were no signs of a grave or similar deposition, and the way the pieces of the skull were dispersed most logically reflected the chaotic collapse of the defensive walls," the authors wrote.
Cambridge University Press reported on the findings in November 2025 in an article called. "The human skull from the siege of La Loma (Santibáñez de la Peña, Palencia, Spain)."
Octavian Augustus Led the Attacks on the Cantabrians, the Researchers Say
The authors believe that the Army of Octavian Augustus was responsible for the carnage.
"After Octavian Augustus prevailed over his political opponents to become the first emperor of Rome, he used the complaints of the Vacceos, Turmogos, and Autrigones, ethnic groups incorporated into the Empire and under constant attack by the Cantabrians, as an excuse to begin a long succession of military campaigns."
In addition to the skull, other remnants of war were discovered. "Prior to the soldiers’ assault, the walls had been riddled by many shots or 'storms' of arrows," the article says.
"There were also fragments of defensive equipment and bladed weapons on the floor, as well as belt buckles and jewelry accessories. Most of these pieces showed damage from cuts or blows, probably testifying to hand-to-hand combat between Cantabrians and Roman legionnaires."