Palla Ákos szerk.: Az Országos Orvostörténeti Könyvtár közleményei 24. (Budapest, 1962)

The deads of the battle of Mohács

65-115 am deep, in the latter at 35-60 cm, rarely more. Hence there is a difference of 30-80 cm between the two levels, apparently quite irregularly. We found at the borders of the graves 3-6, in the center 2-3 layers of skeletons. All in all, the skeletons, i. e. the surface of the graves showed, after cleaning, the outlines of a through. We also tried to feel for the bottom of the graves in one or two places by digging small funnels and groping in this manner under the skeletons. Thus we could ascertain that the walls of the graves are vertical for about 1 m, starting from to-day's level; further on they arch inwards under the heap of bones. In the first grave about 140-150, in the second about 80 corpses, altogether about 250-240 corpses may have been buried, not forgetting the "work" done by the digging-machine.*' Surprising was the great number of headless trunks and torsos without a skull. Of the skeletons we were able to count in the first grave, 61 where whole and there were 47 single skulls. In the second grave 40 skeletons were more or less intact, 14 skulls had no trunks to them. As mentioned before, the rest of the skeletons could not be reached and many were destroyed by the digging machine. The severed heads with lower jaws and 1-2 cervical vertebrae still attached to them, were found in different places and positions. On the highest, i. e. northern and eastern brink of the first grave quite a lot of skulls were laying about, some of them facing heavenwards, some lying on the right or on the left side of the face, others on the neck. On the western side of the grave, on an islandlike mound a single skeleton was found and, at its feet, about 50-60 cm lower a pyramid of skulls. Maybe there are still other skulls under the mound but this time we had no means for investigation. On quite a few of the preserved skulls the spot of the deadly wound could still be seen. Beside skulls which had been literally split into two, others had been smashed with a sort of mace and some revealed a missing slice of bone. Illustration shows a skull with a split jaw; on the right side of the forehead a scar of an earlier wound inflicted by a sword is discernible; maybe the warrior got this when fighting in the peasantansurrection led by György Dózsa.