Paleopathological evidence of paranasal lesions: Two cases of frontal sinus osteomata from Imperial Rome.

The archaeological excavations carried out in 1999 in the Collatina necropolis of the Roman Imperial Age (1st-3rd centuries AD) (Rome, Italy) discovered the skeletal remains of two adult males with evidence of paranasal lesions. Both individuals showed postmortem damage in the frontal bone, through which it was possible to macroscopically detect an oblong new bone formation. In both specimens, radiological examination of the defects' morphology showed new pediculated-based bone formations. Radiology also confirmed the presence of benign osseous masses arising from the right frontal sinus and interpreted as osteomata. Their dimensions did not exceed 10 mm, so that mechanical complications and compression of the adjacent structures could be ruled out. The osteomata of paranasal sinuses are rarely reported in paleopathology, since they can be discovered only incidental to bone breakage or radiography. Hence, the evaluation of their occurrence in past populations represents an important challenge. The two cases presented here show direct and rare evidence of frontal sinus osteomata dating back to the Roman Imperial Age.

[PALEODEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS]. / L'ANALISI PALEODEMOGRAFICA.

Demography evaluates the traits of human populations mainly by measuring their sizes and fluctuations. Due to their features, the archeological population structures refer to the distribution of people based both on sex and age at death. These parameters have a direct impact on the risk of death because they vary significantly with age and sex and this is reflected in a proportional sharing of deaths in several groups at risk. This chapter deals with the demographic structure of several imperial communities scattered through the roman Suburbium. A whole sample of almost 3500 skeletons pertaining to 12 necropolis has been analyzed in order to determine the gender and the age at death. Each necropolis is contextualized according to information about people lifestyle and health, trying to deepen our knowledge on the death risk exposure for every population. Our results suggest to consider the imperial Suburbiumn population as a very complex landscape, where several communities were featured by their different way to face the socio-economic and biologic environments.

An incomplete fatal trepanation diagnosed on cremation remains (Rome, Italy, 2nd c. AD).

BACKGROUND: An original case of incomplete (and reasonably fatal) human trepanation is described in this short paper. The diagnosis was made on the cremated remains of a young adult individual who died in Rome, Italy during the 2nd century AD. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: The trepanation was incomplete, as death occurred quickly due to vascular lesions, according to the anatomic analysis of the bone piece. Comparable trepanation from Roman times are described and related to this case. CONCLUSION: Even if archaeological, this case highlights the possibility of such a diagnosis on post-fire fragmented bones. Very suggestive lesions of section are of great interest for the history of such a practice during classical Antiquity. Lastly, from a medical and forensic point of view, such a diagnosis may be of interest during any identification process and research for a cause of death during anthropological analyses.

Bone deformities and skeletal malformations in the Roman Imperial Age.

This paper describes some cases of individuals affected by skeletal deformities resulting in "freak" appearance. The skeletal remains were found during large archaeological excavations in the Roman territory, carried out by the Special Superintendence to the Archeological Heritage of Rome in the last years, dated back to the Imperial Age. The first cases reported are referred to two growth disorders with opposite effects: a case of dwarfism and another of gigantism. The former concerns a young man from the Collatina necropolis with very short and malformed limbs, which allowed a diagnosis of acondroplasic dwarfism, a rare congenital disorder that limits height below 130 cm. The latter case comes from the necropolis of Torre Serpentana in Fidenae, and is instead referred to a young person of very high stature, about 204 cm, suffering from Gigantism, a rare condition which in this case seems to have been linked to a hormonal dysfunction due to a pituitary adenoma. A third case regards a joint disease affecting the vertebral column and causing severe deformities. The skeleton was found in the Collatina necropolis and belongs to an old woman, suffering from ankylosing spondylitis. Finally, the last and very peculiar case is related to an individual recovered in the necropolis of Castel Malnome. The skeletal remains belong to an adult man with a complete fusion of the temporo-mandibular joint, which compromised mastication and caused severe deformation of the maxillofacial complex. These cases are described in detail together with the possible implications that these deformities could have on in the social context.

[The female world in the Necropolis in Castellaccio (Rome, IV cent. B.C., IV A.C.)]. / La necropoli del Castellaccio (Rome, IV cent. B.C., IV A.C.): il mondo femminile.

The archaeological investigation carried out from 2003 in the Castellaccio locality, undertaken to realize the "Europarco" town planning, brought to light a part ofa road dated to the roman age, identified as the ancient via Laurentina. The road is oriented N/NE-S/SW, is 400 metres long and cross with a bridge the Fosso dell'Acqua Acetosa. Two buildings run alongside this trait of the ancient Laurentina: one can be interpreted as a rural structure, the other one as a mansio. A sidestreet starts from the final edge of the recovered road and run toward East, along the original route of the Fosso dell'Acqua Acetosa Ostiense: the historians recognized it as a boundary of the Ager Romanus Antiquus nearby the VI mile, place of the god Terminus sanctuary. A necropolis made up ofmore than 130 graves, mainly inhumations, was found in the southern part of the crossroads, near the oriental side of the Laurentina. The stratigraphical analysis and the examination of the grave goods allowed the characterization of three period of funerary use of the necropolis, between the middle republican age and the first two century of the Empire. In all three period stand out graves of infants and women, of extreme interest from the ritual point of view and supplied with rich grave goods.

[Female funerary contexts in the Ostiense suburbium: new data]. / Sepolture femminili dalle necropoli del suburbio Ostiense: nuovi dati dai recenti scavi archeologici.

This work concern severalfindings of the last years infunerary contexts in the Ostiense suburbiums, during archaeological investigations carried out by the Soprintendenza Archeologica of Ostia. The latest excavations provided new data to understand the width of the vast funerary area, that probably extended uninterruptedly from East to South of the ancient city of Ostia. New evidences about the funerary rituals came to light, and emerged first anthropological data referred to inhumated and cremated people from Ostia. The results, compared with those obtained from the numerous Rome's necropolis, bring to a preliminary reconstruction of the burial practices in a territory directly connected with Rome, where are reported female's graves of extreme archaeological and anthropological interest.

Possible human sacrifice at the origins of Rome: novel skeletal evidences.

Recent archaeological excavations at the Carcer/Tullianum, in the Roman Forum, allowed the unexpected recovery of human burials associated with the very early foundations of the monument, at the beginning of the iron age. The study of these burials resulted in interesting paleopathological discoveries, concerning the skeleton of a strongly-built male, radiocarbon-dated between 830 and 780 BC. The telltale posture of the skeleton and the presence of a massive perimortal blunt force trauma of the skull shed light on the mode and circumstances of the death of this subject, and are suggestive of ritual sacrifice. The archaeological, mythological and historical backgrounds, combined with the paleopathological evidence, help us to get a glimpse of life and death at the origins of Rome.