Newly published research has revealed a "mysterious mass burial event" in the south of Scotland about 3,300 years ago,El.kz cites BBC.
Excavations were undertaken in 2020 and 2021 by Guard Archaeology during the construction of the access route to the Twentyshilling Wind Farm near Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway.
It revealed a Bronze Age barrow - an ancient burial mound - with the cremated bones of several people contained inside five closely-packed urns.
Archaeologist Thomas Muir, who led the excavation, said it appeared that some kind of "horrible event" such as famine had led to so many burials at the same time.
The wind farm sits about three miles (4.8km) south of Sanquhar on open rough upland terrain.
During their work, Guard Archaeology found the urns with the cremated bones of at least eight individuals all placed there in one mass burial event some time between 1439 and 1287 BC.
A small group of pits some distance north was also excavated, revealing late Neolithic activity between 2867 and 2504 BC.
"The five urns in the Twentyshilling Barrow contained at least eight individuals," said Mr Muir.
"The urns were deposited at the same time as they were packed tightly within the pit and adhered to the same 15th to 13th Century BC date range."
He said that indicated that it was a single mass burial, "possibly of the same family or group".