The tomb discovered by archaeologists from early medieval Italy is a sad testament to the horrors of medicine in the "Dark Ages". The work was carried out by scientists from the University of Ferrara and the University of Bologna, Science Alert reports.
The skeletal remains of a young woman were found with a fetal skeleton between her thighs, and the hole in her skull was probably the result of medical treatment in the past. Found in 2010 in Imola, Bologna, the well-preserved remains were faced with a brick coffin, indicating proper burial. Initial analysis led him to the Lombard period, in the 7th and 8th centuries CE. But the fetus and head injury warranted further investigation. Scientists have identified a woman between the ages of 25 and 35, and the fetus was about 38 weeks old. A full pregnancy reached 40 weeks, so the mother was very close to childbirth when she died. In addition, the position of the fetus hinted at the phenomenon of being born in a coffin.
The research team believes that the hole drilled in the center of the woman's skull was caused by trepanation, an old medical practice for treating various diseases. The bones even showed signs of healing, indicating that the woman lived for at least another week after the procedure.
“Since trepanation was once commonly used in the treatment of hypertension to lower blood pressure in the skull, we hypothesized that this lesion could be related to the treatment of a hypertensive disorder such as preeclampsia,” the scientists write in their paper.
Marina Weber