Greek team finds ancient skull that underwent surgery in Veria, Macedonia

[MAKEDONELLHNAS]

Wed Mar 12, 10:28 AM ET

SALONIKA, Greece (AFP) - Archaeologists have unearthed the skull of a young woman in northern Greece who is believed to have undergone head surgery in the third century, Greek news media reported Wednesday.

A Greek team discovered the skeleton at an ancient cemetery in Veria, with the skull including an injury that led them to conclude the surgery had been performed.

"We think that there was a complex surgical intervention that only an experienced doctor could have performed," said Ioannis Graikos, the head of the archaeological dig.

"Medical treatment on the human body in the Roman Veria is part of a long tradition that began with Hippocrates up to Roman doctor Celsus and Galen," he said, cited in the Ta Nea newspaper.

Hippocrates is believed to have lived in the fifth century BC, Celsus between 25 BC to 50 AD, and Galen from 131 to 201.

The procedure believed to have been carried out was a trepanation, an ancient form of surgery to address head injuries or illnesses.

In 2003, Greek archaeologists discovered a man's skull in a tomb on the Aegean island of Chios from the second century BC that had also undergone a trepanation.

The patient was believed to have lived a number of years after the operation.

Another trepanation was discovered in 2006 in Thrace on a young woman from the eighth century BC believed injured by a weapon.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080312/sc_afp/greecearchaeologymedicine

[Petros Houhoulis]

Scull surgery in womans' head in Roman Veria.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080312/sc_afp/greecearchaeologymedicine

[Makedonia25]

Archaeological Remains Found in Greece Show Ancient Brain Surgery


13 March 2008 | An archaeological discovery that testifies of a brain surgery performed nearly 1,800 years ago was announced in Greece earlier this week.
During excavations in Veria, a town located around 75 kilometres from Thessaloniki, a woman’s skeleton was found. A clearly defined hole in her skull was interpreted as a sign of sophisticated brain surgery.

Experts suppose that the woman had received a head injury and the surgery was preformed in an attempt to save her life, though she is thought to have died during or soon after the manipulation.

Ancient texts often refer to such medical procedures and archeologists have found testaments of them in other parts of the Roman Empire, but – according to international media – perforated skulls have rarely been found in Greece.

The town of Veria was a major Greek civic centre as part of the Roman Empire in the third century and, as such, experts say it boasted a street network and large buildings.

The announcement of the valuable find comes just days after around 1,000 Roman and Byzantine graves were uncovered during excavations for a subway system in Thessaloniki, as BalkanTravellers.com reported.

http://www.balkantravellers.com/en/read/article/438