Archaeologists have identified a skeleton, dubbed Skeleton 150, that may be the first confirmed victim of a trebuchet in the archaeological record. Unearthed in 1997 during excavations beneath the chapel of Stirling Castle in Scotland, the skeleton dates back to the 1300s.
While five skeletons from the site showed signs of violent death, Skeleton 150's injuries were particularly striking to bioarchaeologist Jo Buckberry. The remains exhibited over 160 fractures, including a severely damaged leg, a massive break through the shoulder, approximately 60 rib fractures, and 61 distinct fractures across the skull. These injuries suggested an impact of immense force, unlike those caused by falling or conventional combat.
Buckberry noted that the damage was consistent with being struck by something traveling at high velocity, comparable to modern-day car crashes or train collisions. Considering the historical context of 1304, when Stirling Castle endured a prolonged siege by the armies of Edward I, the most probable cause is a siege engine.
This period saw the use of trebuchets, powerful counter-weighted siege engines that had appeared in Europe about a century earlier. The English forces besieging Stirling Castle in 1304 employed a particularly formidable trebuchet known as the Loup-de-Guerre, or "The War Wolf," reportedly the largest ever constructed. Contemporary accounts describe its missiles as capable of piercing castle walls with ease. The extensive trauma to Skeleton 150's bones indicates a large area of impact and devastation, strongly suggesting the individual was killed by a projectile from such a weapon. The burial location beneath the castle chapel, rather than outside its walls as was typical for fallen soldiers, further supports the theory that these individuals died during the castle's final siege.