Liutprand, one of the greatest Longobard sovereign, was born in the early 90s of the 7th century and died in 744 at the age of about 55 years. According to the Historia Longobardorum of Paolo Diacono, he was King of Italy from 712 to 744. The remains of king Liutprand suffered from many translations in the centuries and this is the main problem for the validation of the authenticity of the bone remains. The first grave was in the chapel of Sant’Adriano in the Longobard cemetery of Santa Maria in Pertica (Pavia). Later, in the second half of 12th century, the body of Liutprando was translated in the Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro and located in a monumental mausoleum. New translations took place after the Council of Trento and in 1895, when the bones were placed in a niche in the floor of the church where they were found in January 2018. The bones, contained in a wooden box, appeared extremely fragmented and in a poor state of preservation. Anthropological, radiological, paleopathological, paleonutritional analyses were carried out, togheter with radiocarbon dating. Anthropological examination highlighted the presence of bones attributable to at least three individuals. Currently it is not possible to accurately define the identity of the three individuals for lack of archaeological data and for the fragmentary nature of the bones. The age of the subjects, the robust build and the nutritional data suggest a belonging to a middle-high social class perhaps devoted to war activity. Future molecular studies may perhaps reveal a possible degree of kinship between the individuals and clarify the identity of the subjects.
Riesumazione e studio antropologico dei resti scheletrici attribuiti a Liutprando, re dei Longobardi (ca 690-744)
GAETA R;MINOZZI S;FORNACIARI A;GIUFFRA V;RICCOMI G;FORNACIARI G.
2019-01-01
Abstract
Liutprand, one of the greatest Longobard sovereign, was born in the early 90s of the 7th century and died in 744 at the age of about 55 years. According to the Historia Longobardorum of Paolo Diacono, he was King of Italy from 712 to 744. The remains of king Liutprand suffered from many translations in the centuries and this is the main problem for the validation of the authenticity of the bone remains. The first grave was in the chapel of Sant’Adriano in the Longobard cemetery of Santa Maria in Pertica (Pavia). Later, in the second half of 12th century, the body of Liutprando was translated in the Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro and located in a monumental mausoleum. New translations took place after the Council of Trento and in 1895, when the bones were placed in a niche in the floor of the church where they were found in January 2018. The bones, contained in a wooden box, appeared extremely fragmented and in a poor state of preservation. Anthropological, radiological, paleopathological, paleonutritional analyses were carried out, togheter with radiocarbon dating. Anthropological examination highlighted the presence of bones attributable to at least three individuals. Currently it is not possible to accurately define the identity of the three individuals for lack of archaeological data and for the fragmentary nature of the bones. The age of the subjects, the robust build and the nutritional data suggest a belonging to a middle-high social class perhaps devoted to war activity. Future molecular studies may perhaps reveal a possible degree of kinship between the individuals and clarify the identity of the subjects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
