Family members burned together and left on funeral pyre for generations in bizarre ritual

Italian alps hold evidence of diversity in ancient funeral rites, writes Liam James

Archaeologists found ample evidence of cremation at Italian dig site (Ufficio Beni)

A Bronze Age grave site in northern Italy holds evidence of a bizarre ancient funeral ritual.

Archaeologists said it appears that family members of a small alpine community would be burned at the stake together – with corpses being left on the pyre for generations.

The Salorno grave, nestled in the Adige valley, has been dated to the Late Bronze Age and has yielded an uprecedented quantity of cremated human remains (about 64kg) that researchers have been able to examine.