The large oval hole was 3cm (1.18in) in size and initial radiocarbon work suggests the man was alive between AD772 to 891, said expertsCambridge Archaeological Unit/David Matzliach
Posted on 08/17/2026 7:59:22 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The skeleton of a young 6ft 5in-tall (1.9m) Viking-era man who had undergone trepanation has been found in a mass grave.
A hole had been bored in his skull while he was alive. It had signs of healing before his remains were flung into a burial pit with nine other men, some dismembered...
The grisly discoveries were found during a University of Cambridge training dig just outside the city last year...
If the young man had had a tumour on his pituitary gland, this could have caused an excess of growth which might explain his height, explained Biers, curator of the Duckworth Collections at the University of Cambridge where the finds are being analysed.
For context, the average male height of the time was about 5ft 6in (about 1.65m).
Trepanned skulls have been found all over the world, including in ancient Greece and Rome.
The practice was thought to relieve symptoms of conditions such as migraines and seizures, along with disorders now known to be psychological.
The individual was between 17 and 24 years old at the time of his death, and had been flung face-down, jumbled in with other remains, archaeologists found.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
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The large oval hole was 3cm (1.18in) in size and initial radiocarbon work suggests the man was alive between AD772 to 891, said expertsCambridge Archaeological Unit/David Matzliach
Thanks for the link!
They had to patch him up. He was their star Forward.
It’s to let the evil spirits out.
This kind of operation pops up in other parts of the past world and ancient world.
🙂😊😁😀😃😆😅😂🤣
Turned out, they werer the only think keeping him alive.
Yup. I know there were a number of other topics about this, but only three now in the keyword.
Word has it they were at the bar drinking, and he was said to have uttered,”.......”
I remember an episode of the “Friday the 13th” series that had an old cursed device that did this.
I didn’t mean topic, just that this operation goes way back and was widespread, evidently it is sort of a natural thing for early humans to try led to by instinct, sort of like the pyramid is a natural building design for an early people to attempt to do on a large scale.
You’ve got to feel for the guy. Likely ridiculed as the village freak, lived through a life-threatening operation without modern advancements, on the mend only to get butchered up along with his buddies and tossed in a pit.
A good story to tell when your teen-ager whines about how hard their lives are.
I think I left a reference to other ancient examples in the excerpt.
Around here early in the 20th c hobos used to hang up the pans on tree branches in the different campsites, another example of tree-panning.
😆
Great movie
“Trepanned skulls have been found all over the world, including in ancient Greece and Rome.”
And Egypt and Meso-America............
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