11TH CENTURY SURGERY

link : http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13231338,00.html



Scientists have showed off an 11th century skull which they claim is the earliest evidence of cranial surgery being performed in England.

The skull, found by English Heritage at the abandoned ancient village of Wharram Percy in North Yorkshire, shows the scars of a near-fatal blow by a blunt weapon.


But thanks to a "life-saving" procedure performed at the time, the 40-year-old victim of the apparent attack survived his injury and made a good recovery.

Scientists say the man who underwent the surgery was a peasant who lived between 960 and 1100AD.

New analysis of the peasant's skull shows that, after he was struck by a blunt weapon, he underwent a form of surgery known as trepanning.

The procedure involved lifting a rectangular area of the scalp measuring 3.5in by 4in (9cm by 10cm) and carefully scraping away at the skull beneath to remove bone fragments and to relieve pressure on the brain.

Wharram's peasant seemingly lived on for many years, eventually dying of other causes, according to the scientists.

Simon Mays, skeletal biologist at English Heritage's Centre for Archaeology, said: "The peasant was probably involved in the medieval equivalent of a pub fight, or could have been the victim of a robbery or family feud.

"This skull is the best evidence we have that such surgery to treat skull fractures was being performed in England at the time."