Esumazione e sudio antropologico dei resti scheletrici attribuiti a Liutprando (* 744)

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 Longobards 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 Liutprand 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 examination highlighted the presence of bones attributable to three individuals. Most of the remains belongs to a robust male individual with strong muscular insertions, with an age to death between 40 and 50 years. There is also a second older male with strong muscle insertions, and a third adult individual of similar size. In fact, there are a pathological left tibia and some fragments of its right controlateral, and other fragments attributable to two other left tibiae. The tibia with pathological alterations presents the upper third of the diaphysis completely altered and enlarged by bone thickening 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 at the point of maximum thickening could represent the trace left by a pointed object that caused the perforation of the bone and the subsequent infection with osteomyelitis. The reparative process has however led to the healing of the lesion before death, which should have occurred not far from the event (maximum 2 years). Imaging studies (CT and RX) on the skeletal remains were performed at the "San Matteo" General Hospital in Pavia. 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, with a varied diet rich of meat. In conclusion, 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 constitution and the nutritional data suggest a belonging to a 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.