Background and objectives: Liutprand, one of the greatest Longobard sovereign, was born in the early 90s of the 7 th 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. Methods: We performed the exhumation and the anthropological study on the skeletal remains attributed to Liutprand in the Church of San Pietro in Ciel d'oro (Pavia, Italy). We selected bone fragments and two teeth in order to make imaging studies (CT and RX), 14C dating, chemical and molecular analyses. Results: Anthropological examination highlighted the presence of bones attributable to at least three individuals. Most of the remains belonged to a robust male individual with an age to death between 40 and 50 years. We found a left tibia with the diaphysis completely enlarged due to a severe form of osteomyelitis. Bone repair is evident and the presence of a circular depression with a diameter of about 10 mm could represent the trace left by a pointed object that caused the perforation of the bone and the subsequent infection. 14C dating provide a range from 430 to 640 for the first subject, 600-770 for the second and 530-670 for the last male. Isotopic data show a rather high nutritional status for the time. Conclusion: Currently it is not possible to 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 constitution and the nutritional data suggest a belonging to a middle-high social class devoted to war activity. Future molecular studies may reveal a degree of kinship between the individuals and clarify the identity of the subjects.

Exhumation and anthropological study of the skeletal remains attributed to Liutprand, King of the Longobards (690 ca AD-744 AD)

Raffaele Gaeta;Simona Minozzi;Antonio Fornaciari;Valentina Giuffra;Giulia Riccomi;Gino Fornaciari
2019-01-01

Abstract

Background and objectives: Liutprand, one of the greatest Longobard sovereign, was born in the early 90s of the 7 th 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. Methods: We performed the exhumation and the anthropological study on the skeletal remains attributed to Liutprand in the Church of San Pietro in Ciel d'oro (Pavia, Italy). We selected bone fragments and two teeth in order to make imaging studies (CT and RX), 14C dating, chemical and molecular analyses. Results: Anthropological examination highlighted the presence of bones attributable to at least three individuals. Most of the remains belonged to a robust male individual with an age to death between 40 and 50 years. We found a left tibia with the diaphysis completely enlarged due to a severe form of osteomyelitis. Bone repair is evident and the presence of a circular depression with a diameter of about 10 mm could represent the trace left by a pointed object that caused the perforation of the bone and the subsequent infection. 14C dating provide a range from 430 to 640 for the first subject, 600-770 for the second and 530-670 for the last male. Isotopic data show a rather high nutritional status for the time. Conclusion: Currently it is not possible to 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 constitution and the nutritional data suggest a belonging to a middle-high social class devoted to war activity. Future molecular studies may reveal a degree of kinship between the individuals and clarify the identity of the subjects.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/1021874
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