Brown University scientists have discovered two aristocratic brothers, one of whom was treated with trepanation, buried in a Bronze Age tomb in Israel. The research was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Archaeologists have found the remains of two individuals under the elite Tel Megiddo residence in Israel. DNA analysis suggested that those buried were siblings. Both men suffered from chronic diseases (clavicular-cranial dysplasia, anemia, and possibly leprosy) and lived around 1500 BC. The brothers’ tomb was decorated with exquisite ceramics.
Extensive bone lesions indicate the severity of their condition. However, these people lived for many years, perhaps because of wealth and status. Moreover, they had access to Bronze Age “neurosurgery”: one of the men had a square hole in the frontal bone of his skull, about 30 mm in size.
Trepanation has been used to treat a variety of ailments by reducing pressure on the skull. No signs of bone healing were found in the bone. This means that the person died during or shortly after the operation.