**Somewhere around the year 450-510 , the ringfort of Sandby borg on the Swedish island of Öland was the scene of a brutal massacre. The dead were left where they fell and the treasures of the fort was never plundered,  neither by the attackers or anyone else later on.**

The migration period were violent times for the inhabitants of the Swedish island of Öland. There were at least 15 ringforts built on the island during this time. However Sandby borg sticks out.

The fact that the fort is located by the water has caused a headache, as the fort has not fit into the traditional picture of the history of the ancient forts. Traditionally, the ancient forts of Öland have been interpreted as places of refuge in times of unrest, and a location by the sea has meant that there was not much time to gather your valuables and get to the castle before a sea-borne enemy had already landed and started plundering. 

Thoughts have therefore been raised that the castle may have been built by Wendish pirates or that they wanted to defend themselves against attacks from land. However, in terms of its layout and appearance, the castle is very similar to the other castles, which speaks in favor of a native builder.

When archaeologists started to excavate the site , they found another surprising thing. The evidence of a brutal massacre. 

The results included some fascinating snapshots from everyday life at the fort as well as the gruesome evidence of a brutal mass killing, with a minimum number of 26 individuals identified of which nine are represented by more or less complete bodies.The victims range in age from small children to elderly adults.Many of the skeletons show clear evidence of sharp force and blunt force trauma, typically inflicted from above or from behind. 

 The dead were left where they fell, along with their belongings, suggesting that no one survived to care for the dead. The castle was then abandoned and never reused, creating an almost untouched picture of life on Iron Age Öland .

The archaeologists found caches of exclusive costume buckles and glass beads from the Roman Mediterranean region, showing that the castle's inhabitants were not only wealthy but also had trade contacts far beyond Öland's borders.

What are your thoughts on this mystery? I'm thinking vampires or something...jk.

The massacre of Sandby borg , the ringfort where time froze