Researchers believe a skeleton represents the first confirmed case of a person being killed by a trebuchet projectile. The finding offers unusually direct physical evidence of the lethal consequences of medieval siege warfare, beyond written accounts and damaged fortifications.

The person’s remains appear to have been catastrophically damaged by the weapon, which hurled heavy projectiles at fortified targets. The conclusion remains a research interpretation, but the injuries are considered consistent with a direct trebuchet strike and make the skeleton a striking archaeological case.