Anglo-Saxon skull found with nose and lips cut off is first physical evidence of brutal punishment for adultery

An Anglo-Saxon skull found in Hampshire with its nose and lips cut off is the first physical evidence of the brutal medieval punishment for adultery.

Remains of the young girl, thought to have been aged between 15 and 18, were discovered during a search of a site in the village of Oakridge, in Basingstoke, in the 1960s.

Her facial injuries (below) included a cut across her mouth and one through the nose which was so deep it sliced through the surrounding bone, archaeologists and scientists have discovered in a fresh analysis of the cranium.

A prominent cut across her forehead also suggests someone had attempted to scalp her.

Gruesome punishments were known to have been part of the legal system in Anglo-Saxon times, with thieving slaves and adulteresses among those who could be mutilated for their crimes.

However, this is the first time physical evidence of such punishments has been uncovered.

The girl's remains were discovered by chance during a search of the Oakridge site, which was about to have a housing estate built over it.

Archaeologists were given a window of time to scour the area and salvage any historic remains that might be there.

They uncovered evidence of an Iron Age settlement and a Romano-British burial. The girl's skull was found in a spoil heap produced during the excavation of the burial site.