A Roman cult that venerated the head as part of the soul, and removed the head as part of their religious burial rites

Its a simple report and not especially momentous but it so exemplifies why I love archaeology - mystery and discovery.

From A Mysterious Cluster of Neatly Decapitated Skeletons Have Been Unearthed in England by Michelle Starr.

An archaeological dig in Suffolk, England has yielded up a Roman-era cemetery treasure: 52 beautifully preserved skeletons dating back to the 4th century.

And of those skeletons, many had been decapitated, their disembodied heads placed neatly at their sides or feet for burial, or buried without bodies altogether. Only 17 skeletons had been buried normally.

[snip]

There have been other Roman cemeteries found in the area, but only this one seems to have observed this practice - although why they did so is a mystery.

It's also worth noting that the deceased had not been executed. The archaeologists believe that the heads had been very carefully removed from the bodies after death, cut cleanly from the front just behind the jaw, unlike the violent, low cuts commonly found in executions.

Peachey notes that one explanation could be a segment of the population may have belonged to a known Roman cult that venerated the head as part of the soul, and removed the head as part of their religious burial rites.

Another possible explanation is that the population came from somewhere else far away, perhaps as slaves, bringing the burial practice with them.