She was not spared: Evidence of interpersonal violence on a Langobard female from the Ferrovia necropolis in Cividale, NE Italy (6th-7th century CE)

AI Summary

Middle-aged Langobard female dated to 590 to 630 CE exhibits healed antemortem cranial lesions from one sharp force and one blunt force injury.
This case provides rare bioarchaeological evidence that women were victims or participants in Langobard interpersonal violence, aligning with legal and historical sources.
Interpretation limited by preservation biases, absence of soft tissue, and cranial only evidence; broader palaeopathological and biomolecular studies across larger samples are required.

Int J Paleopathol. 2026 May 5;53:92-100. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2026.04.008. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to document and contextualize cranial trauma attributable to interpersonal violence in one Langobard individual from the Ferrovia necropolis in Cividale del Friuli (NE Italy).

MATERIALS: The study examines one human skeleton: a middle-aged female dated between 590 and 630 CE.

METHODS: Osteological and palaeopathological analyses were conducted to assess trauma, age-at-death, and activity-related markers. Sex estimation was confirmed through amelogenin analysis.

RESULTS: The individual presents healed antemortem cranial lesions consistent with interpersonal violence: one sharp-force and one blunt-force.

CONCLUSIONS: This case represents documented paleopathological evidence of interpersonal violence affecting a Langobard female.

SIGNIFICANCE: The finding challenges assumptions regarding the exclusively male nature of interpersonal violence in Langobard society and provides a rare bioarchaeological correlate to legal and historical sources acknowledging female involvement in violent contexts.

LIMITATIONS: The identification of interpersonal violence is constrained by preservation biases and the limited visibility of soft-tissue injuries in the skeletal record. Moreover, the interpretation of interpersonal violence from the cranium only is limiting.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Future studies integrating palaeopathological, biomolecular, and contextual archaeological data across larger samples are needed to refine interpretations of violence and gender roles in Langobard populations.

PMID:42092286 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijpp.2026.04.008

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