Photo: Eötvös Loránd University
Archaeologists have solved a 700-year-old mystery surrounding the brutal murder of a Hungarian duke.
An international team of scientists led by Hungarian researchers has reidentified the remains of Duke Béla of Macsó (Bela Mácsva), a descendant of the royal Árpád and Rurik dynasties. Their findings have finally resolved a mystery that has puzzled historians and archaeologists for more than a century, according to SciTechDaily.
The burial was first discovered in 1915 during excavations at a Dominican monastery on Margaret Island in Budapest. Archaeologists uncovered the bones of a young man and, based on the burial site, historical records, and evidence of severe injuries, suspected that the remains belonged to Duke Béla of Macsó, a member of the Árpád dynasty.
Béla (born after 1243 – died November 1272) was the grandson of King Béla IV of Hungary on his mother’s side and a descendant of the Rurikid dynasty on his father’s side. According to 13th-century Austrian chronicles, the duke was murdered in November 1272 by Ban Henry Kőszegi and his accomplices. Contemporary sources recount that Béla’s mutilated body was discovered by his sister Margaret and niece Elizabeth, who arranged his burial in the Dominican monastery.
After the initial excavation, the bones were handed to anthropologist Lajos Bartucz of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), who documented 23 sword wounds on the skeleton, including multiple blows to the head. He concluded that the duke had not died in a duel but had been surrounded and attacked by several assailants while already on the ground. Bartucz briefly mentioned the find in a 1936 newspaper article and later published a photograph of the skull in his 1938 book. The remains were later thought to have been lost during World War II.
In 2018, researchers made a surprising discovery: the bones were found stored in a box at the Hungarian Natural History Museum, and the skull was located separately in the anthropology department at ELTE. The remains were finally reunited.
Analysis revealed that the bones belonged to a man in his early twenties. Radiocarbon dating was conducted by two independent laboratories to ensure accuracy, since early results suggested an unexpectedly early date. The discrepancy was explained by the “reservoir effect” caused by a diet rich in animal and marine protein.
Isotopic analysis of strontium showed that the man was not born in the region where he was buried, and genetic testing confirmed his royal lineage: Béla of Macsó was a great-great-grandson of King Béla III and a descendant of the Rurikids.
Researchers reconstructed the circumstances of his violent death, identifying 26 perimortem injuries—nine to the skull and 17 to the rest of the body—inflicted by at least three attackers. One struck from the front, while two attacked from either side. The assailants used both a sabre and a longsword, and the depth of the cuts indicated that Béla was not wearing armor at the time.
The duke first suffered blows to the head and upper body, then defensive wounds as he tried to shield himself. Once he fell, the attackers delivered fatal strikes to his head and face. The intensity and pattern of the wounds suggest that the assault was driven by rage but carried out in a coordinated manner—pointing to a planned, yet emotionally charged, assassination.
