A new Daily Mail podcast is examining the Oxford mass grave believed to contain victims of the St Brice’s Day Massacre, a thousand-year-old crime that has continued to puzzle historians and archaeologists.
Buried Evidence, produced by The Crime Desk, uses archaeology, historical records and modern forensic science to revisit crimes from the past. Its episode on the massacre focuses on the discovery of a mass burial at St John’s College, Oxford, during excavations in 2008.
The grave contained the remains of at least 35 men and boys, most thought to have been aged between 16 and 25. The bones showed evidence of severe violence, including repeated stabbing, other blade injuries and decapitation.
The Oxford mass grave and the St Brice’s Day Massacre
The burial has been linked to events recorded in medieval chronicles on 13 November 1002, when King Æthelred II ordered the killing of Danes living in England after hearing of an alleged plot against him.
In Oxford, Danish families are said to have sought refuge in St Frideswide’s Church. The church was then burned, according to accounts highlighted by St John’s College, although the precise circumstances surrounding the deaths remain uncertain.
Researchers from the University of Oxford have found evidence that the men may have originated in Scandinavia rather than being local residents. However, analysis published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology said the evidence was ambiguous and suggested that the group could instead have been captured Viking raiders.
Radiocarbon dating also indicated that a tenth-century burial was more likely than a precise date in 1002, leaving open the question of whether the grave was directly connected to the massacre.
The podcast is hosted by historian and author Rebecca Rideal and archaeologist and broadcaster Professor Raksha Dave. Each weekly episode investigates a different historical mystery, examining what physical evidence can reveal beyond later folklore and written accounts.
The first episodes of Buried Evidence are available from Friday 4 September, with the St Brice’s Day investigation among the opening instalments. Subscribers to The Crime Desk receive early access to new episodes, including an additional episode on launch day.
