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This beautiful island off the coast of Ireland witnessed 1,000 deaths in just four years.
Revisiting the Chilling Past of Spike Island – Top European Tourist Spot
Situated on the island off the southwest coast of Ireland is a star-shaped ancient fortress, resembling a beautiful painting. However, this place was once one of the most notorious prisons in the world, as reported by CNN.
Currently, Spike Island has transformed into an impressive tourist destination – akin to Alcatraz in San Francisco (USA) or Robben Island in South Africa. However, during the Victorian era, it was a burial ground for countless prisoners who never left, with over 1,000 lives lost in just four years.
Aerial view of the island. Photo: CNN.
To unravel the mysteries of those who died on the island, biologist Barra O’Donnabhain began excavating the criminal graveyard here in 2013.
Over the past 5 years, O’Donnabhain and his team have uncovered long-buried secrets on Spike Island, including a complex ritual once performed on the coffins of prisoners.
Spike Island – often referred to as the “Alcatraz of Ireland” – holds a multi-layered history. Initial records indicate that this 42-hectare island may have been an early religious settlement dating back to the 6th century. It gradually evolved into a military stronghold of the Kingdom of England in the 18th century before becoming a transit station for prisoners bound for colonies like Australia or Bermuda.
O’Donnabhain, a professor of archaeology at the University of Cork in Ireland, stated: “The prison was opened by the government to deal with the crisis of increasing famine and crime when the legal system was very harsh on theft at that time.”
Since 1847, males as young as 12 were sent to Spike Island for offenses such as stealing potatoes – a relatively trivial offense by today's standards.
However, by 1853, the number of prisoners on the island had risen to 2,500, making it potentially the largest prison of the British Empire at that time, if not the world, in terms of the prisoner count.
Up to 40 prisoners were confined in each communal dormitory measuring 65 m2, with no individual cells for particularly dangerous criminals.
According to scarce records and narratives, prisoners of all kinds were tightly shackled from wrists to ankles, resulting in broken bones, and many described the place as a 'hell on earth'.
The prison cell system on the island. Photo: CNN.
O’Donnabhain explained that the forced labor regime, coupled with impoverished living conditions and inadequate nutrition, led to deaths nearly every day in the early years.
Records indicate that one of the island's two cemeteries, with up to 1,000 prisoners, had died before 1860. O’Donnabhain's team excavated 35 graves in a cemetery used after 1860, revealing a significant reduction in the death toll to one person per month from that point onward.
He was astonished to discover a habit of prisoners when burying their fellow inmates. They meticulously painted the cheap pine coffins to make them resemble oak boxes.
O’Donnabhain said, “I think it's like a gift that the living prisoners send to the dead. They are buried in a criminal cemetery on a notorious island, sidelined from society. But these prisoners only did that with those who earned respect”.
However, one of the most curious findings is that some skulls have the tops missing.
O’Donnabhain speculates that this may be part of a larger study by the Italian scientist Cesare Lombroso in the 1870s to identify physical characteristics of 'criminals from birth'.
O’Ronnabhain explains: “Lombroso conducted many post-mortem examinations and found a particular variation in the skull that he believed was a sign of natural-born criminals”. Of course, Lombroso's hypotheses have long been debunked by the scientific community.
However, O’Donnabhain cannot be certain that this is exactly what Lombroso's group did on Spike Island.
When this prison closed in 1883, the island continued to be used for its original purpose as a military camp. But from 1985 to 2004, it returned to its role as a prison.
When O’Donnabhain conducted his research, he said that there were messages still lying on the beds. So, before starting the excavation, his team documented the modern graffiti artwork created by prisoners in the 20th century.
The drawings on the walls detail nicknames, phrases, or the homelands of the prisoners. O’Donnabhain notes that these modern prisoners also come from “social disadvantages” similar to Victoria-era criminals.
“You'll see they have something in common: being poor, ending up in prison, or coming from disadvantaged circumstances in society,” he says.
By 2016, Spike Island had been transformed into a tourist attraction and opened to the public. Even in 2017, it was honored as the “Top Tourist Attraction in Europe” at the World Travel Awards.
O’Donnabhain expresses that tourists are intrigued and eager to explore the dark past of the prison and the island. “People are drawn to places beyond their reach. If you tell them they can't go there, they want to see what's behind that wall even more,” he shares.
By Truong Dang/Vnexpress
Posted by: Ta Diem
Keywords: The Terrifying Past of Spike Island – Top Tourist Attraction in Europe
