London (CNN) Dozens of Neolithic skeletons, including those of people who may have been victims of human sacrifice, have been discovered in an almost 3,000-year-old settlement in Britain.

The remains of 26 people from the Iron Age and Roman periods were found, including a woman with her feet cut off and her arms bound behind her head, and another person with their skull placed by their feet.

A collection of tools from different time periods was also found in the settlement, which was discovered by engineers laying water pipes in Oxfordshire, England.

Archaeologists inspecting the remains believe the people found were from the same community involved in creating the Uffington White Horse, a prehistoric chalk sculpture on a nearby hill.

A skeleton found with its skull placed at its feet.

"These findings open a unique window into the lives and deaths of communities we often know only for their monumental buildings, such as hillforts or the Uffington White Horse," Paolo Guarino, Cotswold Archaeology project officer, said in a statement.

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