TOMB: The Online Map of Bioarchaeology

Campochiaro

individual 108 from Campochiaro exhibiting trauma and leprosy from Rubini and Zaio 2011
Individual 108 exhibiting sharp trauma and leprosy. Credit: Rubini and Zaio 2011:1555 Figure 8

The cemetery under investigation is known as Campochiaro, and is located in Molise. It dates from the 6th to 8th centuries CE, and consists of two primary burial areas: Morrione and Vicenne, although only the former was investigated further in this analysis. While there is no known settlement attached to the burial site, this lack of settlement suggests that the population was semi-nomadic. Further, there are abundant artifacts which argue for the site to be part of a multi-cultural barbarian population. The artifacts can be attributed to the Lombards, Avars, and a number of nomadic Asian populations. This is further supported by the variation in grave goods, and burial layouts. In this time period, central Italy was the site of territory conflict between the Lombards and the Byzantine army. Therefore, Rubini and Zaio (2011) argue that the individuals in the Campochiaro area may have been part of a military outpost built to protect and control the border. At the Morrilone cemetery, there were 234 graves were excavated. Of these, a few were selected for deeper investigation due to paleopathology. Grave 20 contained an older male, over 55 years. He was about 161 cm with mongoloid facial characteristics. He also had very pronounced muscle markers on his skeleton, which suggest he was engaged in activities like drawing a bow and riding a horse. He has a blunt force injury on the side of his skull at the parietal. The wound is healed, and has signs of medical treatment. This is typical of Avar warriors who were both fierce and good with medicine. Grave 102 also contained an older male, aged 50-55 years. He was 169 cm tall and had Adriatic facial characteristics. On his skull there was a healed slice through orbit and frontal bone suggesting sharp force trauma. Grave 108, like the others, was an old male older than 50 years. He was 161 cm tall and his facial features were not clearly one type of ethnicity. He had a number of pathologies, including osteoarthritis in the spine and sharp force trauma to the fontal bone. He also had destruction of the facial bones and bony resorption of the nasal bones usually associated with rhinomaxillary syndrome and leprosy. There was also leprous destruction in the hands and feet. The disease would have been highly disabling due to loss of feeling and control in the appendages. However, there are stories of leprous barbarian kings battling through both foreigners despite their disease. Injuries by all are clearly related to conflict and not due to accident. This was determined by the authors due to the pattern of the injuries. The combination of blunt and sharp force trauma around the head is suggestive of warfare. This is further supported by the high number of weapons found in the graves, and the location. This evidence, combined with location and ethnic identity supports the author’s conclusion that this burial site belonged to a nomadic group on the borders of the Byzantine/Lombard-Avar lines.

References: Rubini and Zaio (2011). Warrior from the East: Skeletal evidence of warfare from a Lonbard-Avar cemetery in Central Italy. In Journal of Archaeological Science 38. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.020

 


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