engleski

Trauma analysis in Roman era sample from Zadar - Relja

Zadar (Iader) was founded as a Roman colony possibly by Caesar or by the emperor Augustus. During the Antique period it was one of the largest urban centres on the eastern Adriatic coast. Because of urban construction, rescue excavations of Roman necropolis were carried out in 1989/1990 and 2005/2006 in the city district Relja. Almost 1500 graves (incinerated and inhumated) were excavated. Grave goods (coins, pottery, pins, fibulae, glass vessels etc.) date the use of necropolis between 1st and 6th century AD. Bioarchaeological analysis was carried out on 356 skeletons (95 females, 206 males and 55 subadults). The average ages at death for males and females from the analysed sample is almost identical: 35.6 years for men (sd=8.1) and 35.3 years for women (sd=9.7). Trauma frequencies in this sample were compared with trauma frequencies in two composite Antique skeletal samples: one form the eastern Croatia and the other from the eastern Adriatic coast. Trauma analysis showed a variety of injuries ranging from sword cuts to the cranium and long bones, directly associated with the cause of death, to more mundane cases of healed broken fingers and ribs. A total of 2753 long bones were analysed and traumas were observed in 29/2753 (1.0%) of all analysed bones with no significant differences between men (1.1%) and women (0.9%). Most long bone traumas are present in the clavicle (1.6%), tibia (1.4%) and radius (1.3%). The frequency of long bone traumas in Zadar-Relja is similar to frequency in Antique composite skeletal samples from eastern Croatia (1.1%) and eastern Adriatic coast (1.6%). The frequency of cranial traumas in Zadar-Relja is relatively high: 21 out of 91 preserved skulls (23.1%) exhibit some kind of trauma. Head fractures are two times more frequent in men (15/50 or 30.0%) than in women (6/41 or 14.6%), but this difference is not statistically significant. The most dramatic cranial trauma noted is a massive perimortem fracture to the left parietal and occipital bones of an adult male caused by a sharp bladed object (most likely a sword). The presented data suggest that intentional interhuman violence in Iader was relatively common. The pattern and frequency of an analysed injuries seems to be most consistent with street fights and tavern brawls with only occasional use of sharp weapons, rather than the more overtly violent confrontations encountered in battles or other military operations.

Trauma; skeletal sample; Roman era; Zadar - Relja

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