What happened to dead bodies in ancient wars?

As you might expect from this, the Romans made a conscious effort to recover the bodies of those who died and, if time allowed it, would bury or cremate them individually. If this wasn’t possible, the bodies of soldiers killed in battle would be collected and given a mass cremation or burial.

What happened to the dead bodies after a medieval battle?

Buried, Rotting, or Burnt Many corpses left on the battlefield would, of course, be buried. Christopher Daniell’s book Death and Burial in Medieval England, 1066-1550 indicates that in the Middle Ages, people preferred to bury bodies in consecrated ground.

What happened to bodies after a war?

Bodies were stripped of any valuables, clothes included, and were either burned ( most often), or buried in mass graves, or sometimes just left for nature to reclaim. Depended on the combatants, the seasons, and location of the battle.

What happened to the bodies after the Battle of Waterloo?

A pyre at Hougoumont after the Battle of Waterloo. (Image by James Rouse, 1816) After they had been stripped, the bodies were either burned, buried, or left in the open to decompose, a process aided by vultures, wolves and other scavengers.

What happened to the bodies of the dead before they were stripped?

It should also be noted here that beyond any possessions the bodies may have had on them before being stripped, the bodies themselves were also of value. For example, human scavengers would come through and rob the dead of their teeth, which would then be used to make dentures.

What happened to the bodies of Roman soldiers killed in battle?

As you might expect from this, the Romans made a conscious effort to recover the bodies of those who died and, if time allowed it, would bury or cremate them individually. If this wasn’t possible, the bodies of soldiers killed in battle would be collected and given a mass cremation or burial.