How woman's decapitated skull ended up deep in Italian cave

How woman's decapitated skull ended up deep in Italian cave By 9News Staff3:39pm Mar 4, 2021Archaeologists believe they have figured out how a decapitated skull ended up deep inside a remote

cave in northern Italy. X Facebook Mail Archaeologists believe they have figured out how a decapitated skull ended up deep inside a remote cave in northern Italy.The remains, estimated to

be about 5300 years old, were discovered in the system of caves known as Marcel Loubens back in 2015, but scientists were perplexed as to how the skull wound up there.Considering no one from

that time period would have been able to access the location, archaeologists couldn't figure out why no other human remains were found in the immediate vicinity of the skull, or why there

was no other evidence to suggest what happened.READ MORE: Ancient Roman penis carving incredibly important, say English archaeologistsThe skull was first sighted near the top of a vertical

shaft approximately 12 metres below a complex system of caves 26 metres underground. (Francesco Grazioli / Creative Commons)The skull was first sighted near the top of a vertical shaft

approximately 12 metres below a complex system of caves 26 metres underground.It was situated upturned, missing the lower jaw, in a natural cavity in the shaft that could only be accessed

with special climbing equipment.In 2017, archaeologists finally retrieved the skull and today released a paper in PLOS One theorising how it ended up there.Lead archaeologist Maria Giovanna

Belcastro of the University of Bologna in Italy suspects it was flushed into the cave by a flow of water and mud, likely from the edges of a doline or sinkhole."The accidental nature of the

event is seemingly confirmed by some post-mortem lesions on the cranium," Professor Belcastro said in the paper."We focused on investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of this

individual, since the cranium shows signs of some lesions that appear to be the results of a perimortem manipulation probably carried out to remove soft tissues."She said the skull belonged

to a young woman aged in her early 30s and the removal of the flesh on her skull, as bizarre as it sounds, was likely done as part of a death ritual.READ MORE: Ancient Roman penis carving

incredibly important, say English archaeologistsThe skull belonged to a young woman aged in her early 30s and the removal of the flesh on her skull, as bizarre as it sounds, was likely done

as part of a death ritual. (Belacastro / PLOS One)READ MORE: Mexican farmers find rare female statue in citrus groveDe-fleshing of the dead was a relatively common prehistoric practice

dating back to the Neanderthals.Professor Belcastro and her colleagues used microscopes and a CT scanner to study the fossil and were able to create a 3D replica.First pharaoh's tomb found

in Egypt since Tutankhamun'sView GalleryTheir studies suggest the woman wasn't particularly healthy, suffering from an iron or vitamin deficiency and may have had an en

docrine disorder from analysis of her remaining teeth.Continue readingarchaeologyItalyWorldEuropescienceCONTACT USSend your stories to contact@9news.com.au

Auto news: Would you pay almost $2 million for a Honda? One person just did.