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Bones of Leper Warrior Found in Medieval Cemetery (Italy, 500-700 AD)
Live Science ^ | April 9, 2011 | Unknown

Posted on 04/09/2011 2:15:01 PM PDT by decimon

The bones of a soldier with leprosy who may have died in battle have been found in a medieval Italian cemetery, along with skeletons of men who survived blows to the head with battle-axes and maces.

Studying ancient leprosy, which is caused by a bacterial infection, may help scientists figure out how the infectious disease evolved.

The find also reveals the warlike ways of the semi-nomadic people who lived in the area between the sixth and eighth centuries, said study researcher Mauro Rubini, an anthropologist at Foggia University in Italy. The war wounds, which showed evidence of surgical intervention, provide a peek into the medical capabilities of medieval inhabitants of Italy.

"They knew well the art of war and also the art of treating war wounds," Rubini told LiveScience.

Buried horses and bashed-in skulls

The cemetery of Campochiaro is near the central Italian town of Campobasso. Between the years 500 and 700, when the cemetery was in use, Rubini said, the area was under the control of the Lombards, a Germanic people who allied with the Avars, an ethnically diverse group of Mongols, Bulgars and Turks. No signs of a stable settlement have been found near Campochiaro, Rubini said, so the cemetery was likely used by a military outpost of Lombards and Avars, guarding against invasion from the Byzantine people to the south.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; History
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; leprosy
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To: Argus
There were no Lombards or Avars resident in Italy during the time of the Roman reconquest in the early 6th century, except those who were used as mercenaries by the Romans themselves. The Ostrogoths ruled Italy at that time.

This article makes it sound like these brave Lombards and Avars were defending their homes from invading Byzantines when it is well-documented in the historical sources that the Lombards were the invaders and the Romans mostly took it on the chin--badly--to the point that the Lombards controlled nearly the entire peninsula by 700 AD.
21 posted on 04/09/2011 3:21:27 PM PDT by Antoninus (Fight the homosexual agenda. Support marriage -- www.nationformarriage.org)
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To: decimon

War is a dirty business but this guy was unclean.


22 posted on 04/09/2011 3:23:15 PM PDT by bunkerhill7
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To: Antoninus
Here is a collection of Byzantine maces and war axes.

Byzantine Roman Collection

The war mace, already used from the Late Roman Army at least since the 3rd century AD, composed by a wooden shaft and a metallic head, was transformed in the middle age of Byzantium as the favorite weapon of the heavy armed cavalryman, used with devastating effects on the battlefields.


23 posted on 04/09/2011 3:38:45 PM PDT by TigersEye (Who crashed the markets on 9/15/08 and why?)
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To: Antoninus

Thanks, that’s a lot better than the first idea for a response I came up with, which involved Sam Kinison, and couldn’t be posted. ;’)


24 posted on 04/09/2011 5:55:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Thanks Cincinna for this link -- http://www.friendsofitamar.org)
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To: SunkenCiv

Medieval brain surgery? Wow.


25 posted on 04/09/2011 7:48:53 PM PDT by heye2monn
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To: RightOnline

And if you made him laugh, he’d be in stitches.


26 posted on 04/10/2011 12:00:39 AM PDT by wildbill (You're just jealous because the Voices talk only to me.)
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To: SunkenCiv

It was already like that when I found it, I swear!

:)


27 posted on 04/10/2011 12:04:35 AM PDT by Salamander (I made friends with a lot of people in the Danger Zone.teds herer)
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To: TigersEye
Here is a collection of Byzantine maces and war axes.

How interesting. Thanks for the link!

I have never encountered a mention of Roman war maces in the documentary sources before the 7th century. Of course, axes are attested in pre-Byzantine Roman sources, but not as standard military issue from what I've seen. Based on the site you linked to, I have to assume they were still uncommon before the 7th century, though not non-existent. They seemed to be much more prevalent among the Germanic auxiliaries which would make sense.
28 posted on 04/10/2011 8:06:30 AM PDT by Antoninus (Fight the homosexual agenda. Support marriage -- www.nationformarriage.org)
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To: Antoninus

Right you are.


29 posted on 04/10/2011 1:11:31 PM PDT by Argus
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To: Antoninus

I like the diversity in style in their implements of destruction. There is no reason that art and war should be mutually exclusive endeavors. But then the world has lost a lot in aesthetic appreciation across the board not just in armor and weaponry.


30 posted on 04/10/2011 2:50:36 PM PDT by TigersEye (Who crashed the markets on 9/15/08 and why?)
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To: decimon; Mother Abigail; EBH; vetvetdoug; Smokin' Joe; Global2010; Battle Axe; null and void; ...

bump & a micro ping


31 posted on 04/10/2011 9:02:43 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: TigersEye
I like the diversity in style in their implements of destruction. There is no reason that art and war should be mutually exclusive endeavors. But then the world has lost a lot in aesthetic appreciation across the board not just in armor and weaponry.

Have you ever been to the Philadelphia Museum of Art?

Arms and Armor Collection
32 posted on 04/10/2011 9:22:52 PM PDT by Antoninus (Fight the homosexual agenda. Support marriage -- www.nationformarriage.org)
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To: Antoninus
Unfortunately no. It's too far away and not a city I would care to visit today. But thanks for the link I have no problem perusing their website. Lots of cool stuff there.

Technology is great, I'm no Luddite, but the end of the ages of hand crafting by an artisan seems an unfortunate effect of progress. A loss of some beauty at any rate.

33 posted on 04/10/2011 9:56:26 PM PDT by TigersEye (Who crashed the markets on 9/15/08 and why?)
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To: Antoninus; SunkenCiv
Mauseleum of Theodoric, Ostrogoth King, 525 AD.


34 posted on 04/11/2011 12:57:31 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: colorado tanker

If FR had a “like” button, I’d click it under that photo.


35 posted on 04/11/2011 9:24:14 PM PDT by Antoninus (Fight the homosexual agenda. Support marriage -- www.nationformarriage.org)
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To: Antoninus
I found Ravenna a very special place to visit.
36 posted on 04/12/2011 12:43:32 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: colorado tanker

That structure’s interesting because the roof is basically one giant stone, probably the largest ever used in construction in Italy, and maybe anywhere. The Romans quarried some single-piece 200 ton columns in Egypt and transported them by ship to Rome for some temples, that’s the only things that come close.


37 posted on 04/12/2011 5:07:05 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Thanks Cincinna for this link -- http://www.friendsofitamar.org)
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Oh, the Baalbek stones are much bigger than this, and technically they’ve *been* used in construction, but their original purpose remains unknown, and they’ve had stuff built on top of them, I mean, wth else are ya gonna do with ‘em?


38 posted on 04/12/2011 5:09:51 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Thanks Cincinna for this link -- http://www.friendsofitamar.org)
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To: Salamander

;’)


39 posted on 04/12/2011 7:11:32 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Thanks Cincinna for this link -- http://www.friendsofitamar.org)
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To: SunkenCiv
Those Ostrogoths had stones, all right.
40 posted on 04/14/2011 12:48:48 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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