Multiple Circle-Shaped Lesions on Two Individuals from The Preroman Necropolis of Bazzano (Aq – Central Italy).

The Authors present two interesting cases of multiple cranial lesions in skeletal remains from the Bazzano necropolis. The site is one of the most studied in the Abruzzo region and about 1250 graves were excavated there. This necropolis is dated back to a period from X to I century BC. The two adult skeletons (cat.n. S1144 and cat.n. S1120), probably males, come from tombs 108 and 110. The Authors performed macroscopic, miscroscopic and radiological analyses. The lesions are circle-shaped with well-defined edge. In T108 the lesions involve the frontal bone, measuring respectively 3 cm and 2 cm (maximum diameter); T110 shows a smaller lesion (maximum diameter of about 1 cm). The radiologica pictures shows a fracture of the external layer and diploe, not involving the internal layer, with bony resorption suggesting the survival of both individuals. All the lesions were caused ante-mortem by a traumatic event due to a blunt instrument (weapon?), maybe comparable with the rich burial goods found in the graves of the necropolis of Bazzano and other contemporary funerary archeological site in the area of L’Aquila (Central Italy).