10.6092/issn.1973-9494/12788
Attraverso la chiave di lettura osteobiografica, l'indagine di collezioni scheletriche storiche custodite presso Musei e Soprintendenze può fornire nuovi indizi per la loro storia degli studi. Una piccola ma significativa collezione di crani, ospitata presso il Museo "Giuseppe Sergi" della Sapienza Università di Roma, è rimasta anonima fino ad un recente protocollo di indagine iniziato nel 2018. Questa collezione fu recuperata dall'area funeraria scoperta nel corso del XIX secolo nel sito di Castel Trosino (Ascoli Piceno, Italia). Questo cimitero faceva parte di un’importante comunità durante il periodo della dominazione longobarda d'Italia, come testimoniato dalla ricchezza dei corredi recuperati. I 19 crani presentati in questo lavoro sono gli unici disponibili per lo studio, tutti gli altri sono andati persi poco dopo il primo scavo. La loro importanza è legata alla ricerca di una maggiore comprensione delle testimonianze osteologiche della comunità altomedievale di Castel Trosino.
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1973-9494
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Giorgio Manzi
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Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
osteobiography
Conservation and Reassessment of an Overlooked Skeletal Collection Preserved Since 1901 at the Museum of Anthropology “G. Sergi”, Rome
Text.Serial.Journal
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Articles
2021-05-13
2021-04-27
2021-05-13
2021-05-13
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CSCH
Giorgio Manzi
2020
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/12788
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Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
1973-9494
osteobiography
en
78
Conservation and Reassessment of an Overlooked Skeletal Collection Preserved Since 1901 at the Museum of Anthropology “G. Sergi”, Rome
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/12788/12506
20
C     ONSERVATION AND REASSESSMENT
      OF AN OVERLOOKED SKELETAL COLLECTION
      PRESERVED SINCE 1901 AT THE MUSEUM
      OF ANTHROPOLOGY “G. SERGI”, ROME

   Ileana Micarelli *, Robert R. Paine, Mary Anne Tafuri, M. Elisabetta Aloisi Masella,
   Giorgio Manzi
   Department of Environmental Biology,
   Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy


   Keywords: museology, Castel Trosino, Longobards, bioarchaeology, osteobiography



   1. Introduction

    This paper is to inform the archaeological and historical research community of
the re-discovery of a poorly documented, but scientifically important, skeletal collec-
tion composed of 19 skulls and mandibles, housed at the Museum of Anthropology
“Giuseppe Sergi” (MGS) of the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
    This collection comes from a Longobard cemetery found near the small town of
Castel Trosino, in central Italy (Figure 1). The configuration of this collection bears tes-
timony to the old tradition (end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century) in anthropol-
ogy of amassing cranial collections from sites around the world. Our initial purpose for
investigating this collection of skulls is assessment, so they become available for future
research. In doing so, we discuss both conservation efforts (locating archival documents)
and basic reassessment of the preliminary osteo-archaeological data specific to this
collection. This is vital since osteological standards for doing so have changed consider-
ably since the skulls were first housed and documented at the MGS 110 years ago.
    The aim of this paper is therefore twofold: i) to make a reassessment of the skull
collection, with related information (sex, age, presence of lesions); ii) to provide informa-
tion in light of more specialized analyses (biomolecular investigations; paleopathology:
CT-scans or X-rays for virtual anthropology studies; ancient DNA analysis).


   1.1. Archaeological context

   The history of the recovery and the storage of these remains begins with the dis-
covery of a single richly endowed Longobard burial in 1872. This archaeological find
then prompted the first formal field research, during the period 1893-96, of the now
well-known necropolis of Castel Trosino [1].
   The funerary area of this site from the Early Middle Ages is subdivided into three
contrade, referred to as Santo Stefano, Fonte and Campo. Castel Trosino stands out


   * Corresponding author: ileana.micarelli @uniroma1.it
                                                                                                                                            among early Longobard cemeteries in Italy for its significant number of burials and for
I. Micarelli, R.R. Paine, M.A. Tafuri, M.E. Aloisi Masella, G. Manzi - Conservation and reassessment of an overlooked skeletal collection



                                                                                                                                            the wealth of the material grave goods [2 - 4]. The cemetery is also divided into four
                                                                                                                                            chronological periods that match consecutive Longobard generations [5]. The archae-
                                                                                                                                            ological records tell us that there were 289 burials recovered from the site, with 20 of
                                                                                                                                            the graves designated as warrior burials. Of the warrior burials, 2 or 3 important individu-
                                                                                                                                            als from each generation were found with complete and/or prestigious battle gear. Other
                                                                                                                                            warriors were buried with less prestigious and incomplete equipment [1, 5]. Recent inter-
                                                                                                                                            pretation of the site suggests that the nearby settlement had no pre-eminent military
                                                                                                                                            function. Rather, it was more likely used as a residence for the families of important war-
                                                                                                                                            riors. This hegemony was underlined by the exceptional quality of the male and female
                                                                                                                                            grave goods [5].




                                                                                                                                            Figure 1. Necropolis of Castel Trosino, contrada Santo Stefano, Ascoli Piceno (Ricci & Paroli, 2007).
                                                                                                                                            Burials in red are where the skulls preserved in Rome come from.


                                                                                                                                                Unfortunately, most of the 289 burials recovered in the original excavations have
                                                                                                                                            been misplaced and have not been osteologically assessed [1]. This lack of documen-
                                                                                                                                            tation makes the remaining 19 skulls preserved at the MGS an important collection for
                                                                                                                                            understanding the osteobiography and life history of this population.
                                                                                                                                                As for the cultural context of the skulls, the grave goods found in this necropolis are
                                                                                                                                            now part of the artefacts displayed at the “Museo delle Civiltà - Museo dell’alto Medio-
                                                                                                                                            evo Alessandra Vaccaro” in Rome, Italy. These goods have been well studied and are
                                                                                                                                            available for public viewing [1]. However, given this archaeological evidence, we un-
                                                                                                                                            derstand that the 19 skulls discussed in this paper represent burials where either no
                                                                                                                                            grave goods were found, or the grave goods were of very poor quality. Additionally,
                                                                                                                                            their burial location in the necropolis and their tomb typologies (Table 1) suggest that
                                                                                                                                            these individuals were likely of low social status [6, 1].


                                                                                                                      66
    2. Materials and Methods

    2.1. History of the collection

     Professor Giuseppe Sergi was considered one of the forefathers of the discipline of
anthropology in Italy during the second half of the 19th century. As part of his critical
contribution to the discipline, in 1889 he started collecting human osteological samples
from around the world. Most of these collections are currently housed in the MGS lo-
cated in the Department of Environmental Biology of the Sapienza University of Rome
[7]. In the early years of the MGS, thousands of osteological samples (mostly crania)
were acquired by or donated to Giuseppe Sergi. As the collections grew, Sergi required
a more adequate place to house these materials. As a result, he set up the first room
for storing osteological samples in the chapel of the “San Pietro in Vincoli” Church, at
the Regia Scuola di Applicazione per Ingegneri (School of Engineering) [8]. In 1887,
the collections were moved to the ground floor of the Palazzo del Collegio Romano, a
research institution located in Rome,
referred to as the “Gabinetto e Mu-
seo di Antropologia” (later Istituto di
Antropologia), pertaining to the Fac-
ulty of Sciences of the Università di
Roma “La Sapienza”. The collections
were housed there for nearly 50 years.
Later a permanent dedicated space
was created in 1938 to house the
collections in the new building of An-
thropology, Psychology and General
Physiology. This was to be an anthro-
pological institute and museum built




                                                                                                          Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
specifically for the new campus of the
Sapienza University of Rome, known
also as “Studium Urbis” [8]. The hu-
man osteological collections have
been stored there ever since and is
where the 19 skulls from the site of
Castel Trosino were found.
     In addition to the actual skeletal
elements housed at the MGS, the
museum holds the archival records
specifying how the collections were
obtained and/or purchased as well as
the archaeological records for many
of the sites. Among the archival docu-
ments, we found the receipt for the
acquisition of the 19 skulls from the
excavators who recovered the bones
                                          Figure 2. Receipt dated 1904 for the purchase of the
from the Castel Trosino site. The docu-
                                          skulls from Castel Trosino (in the red rectangle: “Crani
ment is dated May 20 , 1904 (Figure 2). antichi Longobardi 19”, “19 ancient Longobard skulls”)
                      th

It states the following: “Crani anti- preserved in the archives of the Museum of Anthro-
chi longobardi, 19” paid “475,00 lire” pology of the Sapienza University of Rome.


                                                                                                     67
                                                                                                                                            (1,663 euros current value) for their acquisition. From these documents, it appears that
I. Micarelli, R.R. Paine, M.A. Tafuri, M.E. Aloisi Masella, G. Manzi - Conservation and reassessment of an overlooked skeletal collection



                                                                                                                                            of the 289 burials excavated at the Castel Trosino site, only the 19 skulls were housed at
                                                                                                                                            the MGS. Unfortunately, the archival records of the MGS have no documents that tell us
                                                                                                                                            of the fate of the other burials. As an early physical anthropological researcher, Sergi
                                                                                                                                            published the first osteological documents concerning this sample; in them, he described
                                                                                                                                            the 19 crania and some mandibles and determined the sex of each skull. The primary
                                                                                                                                            purpose of his 1902 report was to comment on cranial size and shape as well as en-
                                                                                                                                            docranial volume specific to sex [9 - 10]. Even if the long bones are missing, the skulls
                                                                                                                                            have been stored, as we know, at the MGS since 1901. Nevertheless, this document is
                                                                                                                                            of historic interest as it provides evidence that Sergi’s research was at the time following
                                                                                                                                            goals which were common among physical anthropologists in the 19th century. It also
                                                                                                                                            appears that his work was in response to previous studies conducted by Morton and
                                                                                                                                            Broca [11] in their attempt to better understand human “racial” variation and cognition.
                                                                                                                                                After Sergi’s report it seems that nothing else was written about the remains until
                                                                                                                                            1971. This was shortly after Prof. Istvan Kiszely visited the MGS. During this visit, he
                                                                                                                                            found that 13 of the 19 skulls were still in the original wrapping paper with the number
                                                                                                                                            of the burial written on the paper [6]. During his research at MGS, Kiszely created a
                                                                                                                                            photo-log specific to eight of the skulls from the Castel Trosino collection. This photo-
                                                                                                                                            log with descriptive tables was sent to Prof. Venerando Correnti who, at that time,
                                                                                                                                            was the director of the Institute of Anthropology of the University of Rome (Figure 3).
                                                                                                                                            We assume that the letter contained results from an osteological study carried out by
                                                                                                                                            Kiszely sometime just before 1969 (Figure 4). This correspondence was from Kisze-
                                                                                                                                            ly while he was in Budapest and was likely mailed with the intent of wishing to publish
                                                                                                                                            his research of the skulls in an Italian journal. Before commenting on Kiszely’s re-
                                                                                                                                            search, Correnti contacted Prof. Mario Cappieri (professor of Anthropology in Rome)
                                                                                                                                            for a second opinion on the manuscript. It would therefore appear that Correnti sent
                                                                                                                                            a copy of the letter to Cappieri, but he evidently did not send the photo-log made by
                                                                                                                                            Kiszely, which means the photo-log remained in the archival records of the MGS.




                                                                                                                                            Figure 3. The envelope sent to V. Correnti in 1969 from the Institut Archeologique De l’Académie
                                                                                                                                            Hongroise de Science, Budapest.


                                                                                                                      68
Also, despite his inquiry concerning publishing his findings in an Italian journal, it ap-
pears that Kiszely did not do so. Instead Kiszely published his findings in an issue of
the British Archaeological Reports [1, 12]. His work produced additional, previously
unreported descriptive metric data of the skulls recovered from the Castel Trosino
site. However, we found nothing reported by Kiszely concerning cranial trauma or
skeletal lesions.




                                                                                                           Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
Figure 4. Part of the photo-log sent to Correnti from Kiszely and preserved in the Museum G. Sergi.



    2.2. Current assignment of the skulls

     A re-introduction of the 19 Castel Trosino skulls to Longobard historians is the spe-
cific aim of the present publication. The significance of this small sample cannot be
overstated. They are the only known remaining skeletal elements from the original
excavation of 1893-96 and represent everyday common individuals from the necropo-
lis in contrada Santo Stefano (Figure 1). As part of an under-reported Italian commu-
nity, the skulls have become a critical source of biological data. Recent publications on
other Longobard collections are deepening our knowledge about their mobility, life-
style, state of health and cultural/medical methods for treating serious health problems
[13 - 21]. Additional metric and health data from this collection should help to better
understand this early-medieval Italian community.
     The state of conservation of the cranial samples varies, as can be seen in Table 1.
Since all of the remains were excavated before the 1900s, there was little control over
the quality of the excavation procedures. In archaeological excavations of the last cen-
tury, it was common for only skulls and some long bones to be kept for potential labora-
tory assessment. The rest of the remains were often left at the site, lost to biological
anthropologists and to historians.


                                                                                                      69
                                                                                                                                            Table 1. Sex and age distribution of the skulls from Castel Trosino with preliminary palaeopathological
I. Micarelli, R.R. Paine, M.A. Tafuri, M.E. Aloisi Masella, G. Manzi - Conservation and reassessment of an overlooked skeletal collection



                                                                                                                                            observations


                                                                                                                                            Specimen    Burial    Sex   Age     Bones        Location     Type of    Grave        Palaeo-
                                                                                                                                                                                                          burial     goods        pathological
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  lesions


                                                                                                                                             CT19441    56a       F     25-35   Cranium      Inside the   Multiple   Absent       Possible sharp
                                                                                                                                                                                             church       chamber                 trauma on the
                                                                                                                                                                                                          tomb                    occipital

                                                                                                                                             CT19451    122       F     20-25   Cranium      North-       Chamber    Comb and     None
                                                                                                                                                                                             eastern      tomb       two hair
                                                                                                                                                                                             area                    pins

                                                                                                                                             CT19461    56b       M     50+     Cranium      Inside the   Multiple   Absent       Edentulous
                                                                                                                                                                                             church       chamber
                                                                                                                                                                                                          tomb

                                                                                                                                             CT19471              M     25-35   Cranium                                           Sharp trauma
                                                                                                                                                                                Mandi-ble                                         on right
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  parietal, enamel
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  hypoplasia

                                                                                                                                             CT19481              F     adult   Cranium                                           None

                                                                                                                                             CT19491              M     35-40   Cranium                                           None


                                                                                                                                             CT1950     72        F     35-45   Cranium      Close to   Chamber      Bronze       Lithic lesions on
                                                                                                                                                                                             the church tomb         brooch and   the sphenoid,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     plaque       porotic
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  hyperostosis,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  tooth loss (all
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  molars were lost
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  during life)


                                                                                                                                             CT1951     49        M     30-40   Cranium      Inside the   Chamber    Iron brooch, None
                                                                                                                                                                                Mandi-ble    church       tomb       comb and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     glass bottle


                                                                                                                                             CT1952     67a       M     55+     Cranium      Inside the              Bronze       Fracture of
                                                                                                                                                                                             church                  brooch,      nasal bones,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     comb         destructive
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     and gold     caries on second
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     filaments    molar of right
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  maxilla, possible
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  scurvy

                                                                                                                                             CT1953     67b       F     50+     Cranium      Inside the   Multiple   Brooch,      A trepanation
                                                                                                                                                                                             church       chamber    comb         with a cross-
                                                                                                                                                                                                          tomb       and gold     shaped lesion, 2
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     filaments    small osteoma
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  buttons

                                                                                                                                             CT1954               M     55+     Calva-rium                                        None




                                                                                                                        70
CT1955    110      F    24-35   Calva-rium   Central      Burial in   Absent    Porotic
                                             area at      soil with             hyperostosis
                                             south        stone
                                                          covering
                                                          of floor
                                                          and walls

CT1956             F    50+     Cranium                                         DJD on temporo-
                                                                                mandibular joint
                                                                                and on occipital
                                                                                condyles

CT1957    81       F    55+     Calva-rium   Central      Burial in   Absent    None
                                             area at      soil with
                                             south        stone
                                                          covering
                                                          of walls

CT1958             F    25-30   Facial                                          DJD on mandible
                                bones,                                          condyles
                                Mandi-ble

CT1959    56       M    25-35   Calva-rium   Inside the   Multiple    Absent    Healed fractures
                                             church       chamber               on the mandible
                                                          tomb                  (body and right
                                                                                ramus), DJD
                                                                                on temporo-
                                                                                mandibular joint,
                                                                                calculus on right
                                                                                teeth (maxilla
                                                                                and mandibula)

CT1960    28       F    20-30   Calvarium,   Central      Burial in   Absent    None
                                Mandible     area         soil




                                                                                                         Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
CT1961    130      M    35-50   Calvarium    North-       Burial in   Absent    DJD on temporo-
                                             eastern      soil                  mandibular joint
                                             area

CT1962    39       F    25-35   Cranium,     Central      Burial in   Pitcher   Enamel
                                mandible     area         soil                  hypoplasia, DJD
                                                                                on temporo-
                                                                                mandibular joint


     (These specimens were covered by a layer of glue, see Figure 3A. The mean age
for this collection is 36 years. F = female; M = male; DJD = degenerative joint disease).


   2.3. Re-assessment of the collection

    A new audit enquiry was initiated to re-assess the biological profile of the speci-
mens from Castel Trosino. Our assessment included a confirmation of the sex identifi-
cation made by Sergi [10], while providing an estimation of age at death and general
health conditions for each cranium and mandible. In his 1902 report, Sergi did not offer
age estimation because methods estimating skull age were not widely available. We
are also in the process of evaluating the available skeletal material for both trauma
injuries specific to violent activities and lesions related to metabolic health problems.


                                                                                                    71
                                                                                                                                            Current isotopic investigations will also shed light on the geochemical provenance of
I. Micarelli, R.R. Paine, M.A. Tafuri, M.E. Aloisi Masella, G. Manzi - Conservation and reassessment of an overlooked skeletal collection



                                                                                                                                            the skeletal material as well as providing an indication of their dietary habits.
                                                                                                                                                Re-assessment of the collection has allowed us to increase our knowledge of the
                                                                                                                                            collection. Age estimation was performed for each skull following two 2 criteria, ante-
                                                                                                                                            rior-lateral suture closure rate [22] and dental enamel wear pattern [23]. Both methods
                                                                                                                                            are commonly used by human osteologists to create demographic profiles from skulls.
                                                                                                                                            The first method describes how to score age-at-death using the anterior-lateral sutures
                                                                                                                                            and judging the degree by which the sutures in this region of the skull have closed
                                                                                                                                            over time. This method takes into account 5 points along the sutures of this region of
                                                                                                                                            the skull. Each point is assigned a score specific to the degree of cranial suture clo-
                                                                                                                                            sure (0= unclosed, 1= <50% closed, 2 >50% closed, 3= fused). Each score corre-
                                                                                                                                            sponds to a state of suture closure/fusion. The scores are then summed up to obtain
                                                                                                                                            a composite score that is used to determine an estimated age [22]. Another method
                                                                                                                                            to assess age for these skulls and mandibles is based on occlusal dental wear rate,
                                                                                                                                            which estimates age at death [24, 25]. After complete eruption of the tooth, the occlusal
                                                                                                                                            surface of the enamel starts to wear away. The biomechanics of chewing and diet, as
                                                                                                                                            well as tooth morphology and developmental sequences influence the patterns and
                                                                                                                                            the amount of wear [23].


                                                                                                                                               3. Results and Discussion

                                                                                                                                                 Our re-evaluation adds age estimation (Table 1, unpublished data) to the sex iden-
                                                                                                                                            tification provided by Sergi [10]. Our investigation on age at death was carried out by
                                                                                                                                            calculating the average of ages obtained by the two methods. From our analysis, we
                                                                                                                                            found that all the specimens are adults between the ages of 20 and 55 years (Table 1).
                                                                                                                                            The female mean age is 33.8 years and the mean male age is 40 years at death. Age
                                                                                                                                            range for females is 20-55 years, while for males it is 25-55 years. In Table 1 we also
                                                                                                                                            report on the specific location of the skeletal elements, as emerged from the records
                                                                                                                                            housed at the MGS, while also including our primary palaeopathological impressions
                                                                                                                                            of the skulls as an indication of the enormous potential of this collection. The age at
                                                                                                                                            death is subdivided into three age groups [26]: young adult (20-34), mature adult (35-49),
                                                                                                                                            old adult (50+). The one individual labelled as “adult”, exhibits age-related features that
                                                                                                                                            are insufficient to suggest a specific age range.
                                                                                                                                                 Kiszely was able to record the excavation number of the burials in 13 cases.
                                                                                                                                            None of the identified burials presented rich grave goods except for the brooch from
                                                                                                                                            burial 49, which shows traces of a damascened decoration, a typical Longobard
                                                                                                                                            motif found on metal objects [27]. Sixty-three percent of the skulls (12 out of 19)
                                                                                                                                            represented, show some form of pathological bone defect. One of them shows trau-
                                                                                                                                            matic lesions. These lesions suggest inter-personal violence among the Longobard
                                                                                                                                            people buried in Castel Trosino. An additional third of the skulls exhibit signs of de-
                                                                                                                                            generative joint disease (DJD) linked to age. The rest of the palaeopathological indi-
                                                                                                                                            viduals present bony defects associated with dietary or infectious origins. They in-
                                                                                                                                            clude porotic hyperostosis and pitting of the sphenoid and maxillary regions [28].
                                                                                                                                            Finally, one female shows a unique pattern of scraping trepanation in a cross-shape.
                                                                                                                                            The presence of these lesions and their active remodelling testifies to the fact that
                                                                                                                                            these individuals survived chronic health problems [29]. Specifically, one male with a
                                                                                                                                            broken and healed mandible, as well as the female with the trepanation, show that
                                                                                                                                            local or family healers with medical skills were active in this community. In the first


                                                                                                                              72
case, the man survived a trauma that had caused a substantial loss of blood; the man-
dible fractured and then healed with minimal issues of infection. The trepanation case
confirms that the Longobards were involved in advanced care [30], as observed in
cases from other necropolises. Indeed, knowledge of medical treatment among the
Longobards is not only known through written sources1, but also through archaeologi-
cal records2.
     The 19 skulls illustrate how the Longobards provided care for chronic and severely-
acutely ill individuals, attesting to their sense of community and high value for human
life. With the aim of gathering more information about the community, our goal is to
extend the network of data about osteobiography and medical knowledge by investi-
gating disability and care in the Early Middle Ages.


   4. Final remarks

    Regrettably, until recently, the skeletal collection of the Early Middle Ages from the
site of Castel Trosino has not received adequate attention and very little has been
determined about its demographics, dietary history and state of health. However, we
have begun to systematically correct this oversight by managing the collection and
facilitating future research. More specifically, the collection housed in the MGS is now
part of a series of Italian skeletal specimens that are the foundation of a project enti-
tled: “Population biology, diseases and mobility: Romans and Longobards in the post-
classical era”, funded by the Sapienza University of Rome.
    The contribution of this proposed investigation will be far-reaching.
    Despite the fact that only 19 skulls from the original excavations at Castel Trosino
have been conserved, they offer us a critical starting point towards studying the health
of the Longobard community that lived there. It will moreover be important to investi-
gate the frequency of pathological conditions in the crania and mandibles. As with other




                                                                                                    Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
Longobard collections, we hope to expand our knowledge of the complex medical
world by studying and examining both the indirect archaeological and direct biological
evidence recovered from the burial sites. Understanding what skeletal lesions can tell
us may help in interpreting the range of difficulties faced by these people from the
Early Middle Ages.
    Nevertheless, interpreting the presence or absence of skeletal defects among hu-
man finds from burials can be problematic. This is well understood by human osteolo-
gists. If lesions are found, do they represent chronic or acute health problems? If bone
defects are in the process of being healed, what does this mean in terms of treatment?
These questions are associated with the complex theoretical issue as described in
“The Osteological Paradox” [29], which discusses the problem related to the interpre-
tation of lesions and their origins among past human populations. The research goal of
understanding these issues can only be accomplished using historical records com-
bined with both the archaeological and bioarchaeological evidence recovered from the
site. It is evidently clear that it is not enough to simply record lesion frequencies from a
skeletal collection, it is also necessary to contextualize all defects or report on their
absence. Lesion frequencies alone do not tell us how past communities lived and
worked together to extend life (maybe even to enrich life). To do this, the osteobio-
graphical data must be placed in the cultural context from which it came. This can only
be done with intentional sharing of information by historians, archaeologists and hu-
man osteologists as they attempt to understand the importance of the records recov-


                                                                                               73
                                                                                                                                            ered from human burials of past peoples. Bones offer direct evidence of the life history
I. Micarelli, R.R. Paine, M.A. Tafuri, M.E. Aloisi Masella, G. Manzi - Conservation and reassessment of an overlooked skeletal collection



                                                                                                                                            of a person, while biographies, buildings and ruins, pottery and stone or metal tools are
                                                                                                                                            secondary, indirect indicators of how individuals lived3. With this in mind, the present
                                                                                                                                            research illustrates the unquestionable advantage of reassessing skeletal samples
                                                                                                                                            that have not been fully studied or that need to be reassessed with current and im-
                                                                                                                                            proved methods. Despite the small number of individuals, the cranial collection from
                                                                                                                                            Castel Trosino is now accessible for future studies and full of research potential, which
                                                                                                                                            is precisely the goal of this paper. Along with available historic archival documents and
                                                                                                                                            the material culture from the archaeological context, the small sample of skulls should
                                                                                                                                            be considered a collection of international significance as we attempt to better under-
                                                                                                                                            stand how Europeans in the Early Middle Ages coped with the complex issues associ-
                                                                                                                                            ated with mobility, health, medical treatment, and the community context in which
                                                                                                                                            these critical life-saving social interactions happened.
                                                                                                                                                This skull collection is now ready to undergo further study and so far, represents
                                                                                                                                            the only osteological resource that can help us increase our knowledge of the Longo-
                                                                                                                                            bard population buried at Castel Trosino.


                                                                                                                                                Notes

                                                                                                                                                1.
                                                                                                                                                   The following example is one of the passages in Early Middle Ages literature
                                                                                                                                            about the presence of doctors in the communities: Pauli Diaconi, Historia Langobardo-
                                                                                                                                            rum, liber V, cap. 33. “But Grimoaldo, nine days after a phlebotomy, while he was in his
                                                                                                                                            palace, took the bow and trying to hit a dove with an arrow, broke a vein of the arm. The
                                                                                                                                            doctors, as it is said, applied poisonous medicines to him, so they completely took
                                                                                                                                            away this light from him”, translated following the Italian version of Pauli Diaconi, His-
                                                                                                                                            toria Langobardorum, ed. A Zanella (Milano: BUR, classici greci e latini, 2015).
                                                                                                                                                2.
                                                                                                                                                   An example from the archaeological record is the discovery of three hernial belts
                                                                                                                                            at three different Longobard necropolises in the North of Italy, De Marchi, P.M. (2006)
                                                                                                                                            Manufatti medici in contesti funerari: i cinti erniari. dalla diagnosi alla produzione.
                                                                                                                                            In R. Francovich, M. Valenti (eds) IV Congresso Nazionale di Archeologia Medievale.
                                                                                                                                            Pré-tirages, Scriptorium dell’Abbazia. Abbazia di San Galgano, Chiusdino – Siena,
                                                                                                                                            26-30 settembre 2006, Firenze: All’insegna del Giglio, pp. 440-4406. This supports how
                                                                                                                                            the knowledge of medical solutions was quite specific.
                                                                                                                                                3.
                                                                                                                                                   A recent example of how much information an osteological investigation can offer is
                                                                                                                                            in Robb, J., Inskip, S. A., Cessford, C., Dittmar, J., Kivisild, T., Mitchell, P. D., Mudler, B.,
                                                                                                                                            O’Connell, T. Price, M. E., Rose, A., Scheib, C. (2019) Osteobiography: The History of
                                                                                                                                            the Body as Real Bottom-Line History, Bioarchaeology International, 3(1), pp. 16-31.


                                                                                                                                                Disclosure statement

                                                                                                                                                No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.


                                                                                                                                                Funding

                                                                                                                                               Funding: This work was supported by Sapienza University of Rome, Progetti di
                                                                                                                                            Ateneo 2018 (“Progetti grandi” n. RG118164364E4CB5).


                                                                                                                          74
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                                                                                                                                               Biographical notes

                                                                                                                                                Ileana Micarelli is a research fellow at the Department of Environmental Biology at
                                                                                                                                            Sapienza University. Currently, she is working on a project on the archaeological analysis,
                                                                                                                                            biological profile and paleopathology of skeletal collections from necropolises of the Early
                                                                                                                                            Medieval period. Her expertise includes the contextualization of past human populations,


                                                                                                                           76
studied through osteobiography. As a member of the European Association of Archaeolo-
gists, last year she chaired the session on disability and care in Medieval times.

    Robert R. Paine received his undergraduate degree in Anthropology from the Uni-
versity of Massachusetts – Amherst, in 1981. His Master’s degree in Anthropology
comes from the University of Missouri – Columbia, where he focused on bone biology
and skeletal histology of autopsy samples. He received a Ph.D. in Anthropology from
the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, in 1994. He has been a member of the
American Academy of Forensic Sciences (retired). He has also spent considerable
time studying human health trends from proto-historic and historic remains from Cy-
prus, Italy, Turkey and South Africa. As an educator, he created and directed a forensic
anthropology concentration undergraduate degree, and an undergraduate forensic
sciences minor degree. From 2018-20, he has held a visiting research appointment at
the University of Rome (Sapienza).

    Mary Anne Tafuri is a lecturer at the Department of Environmental Biology at Sa-
pienza University of Rome. Her research interests are in human osteology, bioarchae-
ology, and biomolecular investigations of human remains. She has worked for several
years in the UK. Since 2012 she has taught human osteology and bioarchaeology for
BA and MSc courses in Italy. She is a member of several archaeological missions in
the Sahara, and the Rift Valley (Sapienza, University of Rome), and Iraq (Sapienza,
University of Rome and Cambridge University, UK). Her research projects have re-
ceived funding from the European Union and from various Italian Institutions. She has
published numerous papers in international journals and curated or contributed to ed-
ited volumes and monographs.

    Elisabetta Aloisi Masella is technical assistant at the ‘Museum Giuseppe Sergi’
(Department of Environmental Biology) of the Sapienza, University of Rome. Her task




                                                                                                      Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
consists in cataloguing the collections in the museum and in updating the data of the os-
teological investigations. She is a speleologist and currently works with groups in this field
in Rome. She coordinates laboratories with High School students at the Museum G. Sergi.

    Giorgio Manzi is full professor of Anthropology (Bio/08) at the Sapienza University
of Rome, Department of Environmental Sciences, where he is also Director of the
Museum of Anthropology ‘G. Sergi’. Former Director of the Museum centre of Sapien-
za (2012-2018), former General Secretary of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Uma-
na (1999-2006), and Price F. Frassetto credited by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei
(2006). He is the author of more than 150 scientific papers, mostly dealing with palae-
oanthropology, morphology and bioarchaeology (present h-index Scopus: 26); his pro-
fessional expertise includes the interpretation of the fossil record of human evolution,
studied with advanced morphological and morphometric analyses, and the skeletal
biology of past human populations, particularly at prehistoric and historical transitions.
He is also known for his activities as a science communicator.


   Summary

   The osteological investigation of archived and historic skeletal collections can often
provide clues to how they were organised and managed, offering key osteobiographi-


                                                                                                 77
                                                                                                                                            cal insight into past populations. A small, yet significant, collection of skulls housed at
I. Micarelli, R.R. Paine, M.A. Tafuri, M.E. Aloisi Masella, G. Manzi - Conservation and reassessment of an overlooked skeletal collection



                                                                                                                                            the Museum “Giuseppe Sergi” of the Sapienza University of Rome, remained anony-
                                                                                                                                            mous prior to a recent reassessment protocol started in 2018. This collection was ex-
                                                                                                                                            cavated from a funerary area discovered during the 19th century from the site of Castel
                                                                                                                                            Trosino (Ascoli Piceno, Italy). The cemetery was part of an important community during
                                                                                                                                            the Longobard domination of Italy, as testified by the richness of the cultural artefacts
                                                                                                                                            reported with the burials. The 19 skulls presented in this paper are the only ones avail-
                                                                                                                                            able for assessment; all the others were lost shortly after the first excavation. Their
                                                                                                                                            importance is related to providing a better understanding of biological evidence of a
                                                                                                                                            community that lived in Italy during the Early Middle Ages.

                                                                                                                                               Riassunto

                                                                                                                                                Attraverso la chiave di lettura osteobiografica, l’indagine di collezioni scheletriche
                                                                                                                                            storiche custodite presso Musei e Soprintendenze può fornire nuovi indizi per la loro
                                                                                                                                            storia degli studi. Una piccola ma significativa collezione di crani, ospitata presso il
                                                                                                                                            Museo “Giuseppe Sergi” della Sapienza Università di Roma, è rimasta anonima fino
                                                                                                                                            ad un recente protocollo di indagine iniziato nel 2018. Questa collezione fu recuperata
                                                                                                                                            dall’area funeraria scoperta nel corso del XIX secolo nel sito di Castel Trosino (Ascoli
                                                                                                                                            Piceno, Italia). Questo cimitero faceva parte di un’importante comunità durante il pe-
                                                                                                                                            riodo della dominazione longobarda d’Italia, come testimoniato dalla ricchezza dei cor-
                                                                                                                                            redi recuperati. I 19 crani presentati in questo lavoro sono gli unici disponibili per lo
                                                                                                                                            studio, tutti gli altri sono andati persi poco dopo il primo scavo. La loro importanza è
                                                                                                                                            legata alla ricerca di una maggiore comprensione delle testimonianze osteologiche
                                                                                                                                            della comunità altomedievale di Castel Trosino.




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