Did Iron Age Britons remove brains of the dead?

Archaeological insights into Iron Age Britain remain scarce due to the limited survival of human remains. However, favorable conditions in northwest Scotland have allowed for better preservation of bones from this era. Recent findings published in the journal Antiquity shed light on intriguing funerary practices, including evidence of brain removal from the deceased. The research focuses on remains unearthed in 2000 at a burial cairn in Loch Borralie, situated at the far northwest of the Scottish mainland. Erosion had exposed a human cranium belonging to two individuals: an adult female and a juvenile, whose skull was the one analyzed. A comprehensive study involving osteoarchaeological assessment, multi-isotope studies, and ancient DNA analysis was conducted by the authors of the paper. Radiocarbon dating of molar teeth from the remains indicates that both individuals died between 50 BCE and 70 CE. In examining the adult female's remains, researchers identified an unusual fracture at the base of her cranium, likely occurring around the time of death. This type of injury typically correlates with high-impact scenarios, such as accidents or assaults. However, the specific characteristics of this fracture did not align with known forensic patterns, suggesting it may have resulted from a deliberate impact. The most notable aspect of the discovery is the presence of parallel striations inside the skull, indicative of methodical scraping of the brain matter with a sharp tool shortly after death. This marks the first documented instance of such a practice in this region, although similar postmortem manipulations have been observed in archaeological findings from southern France and Bulgaria, where sections of bone were cut out and transformed into amulets.