Disability and deformity in Early Medieval Milan: bioarchaeology and pathography of two cases from the Ad Martyres cemetery of the Basilica of Saint Ambrose

Abstract

Started in 2018, the vertical excavation of the Ad Martyres cemetery at the Basilica of Saint Ambrose unearthed 307 tombs dated 1st-15th century. Bioarcheological studies are still underway at the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology (LABANOF) aiming to construct a biological profile and osteobiography for each individual. From the phases attributed to the Early Middle Ages, two individuals revealed signs of skeletal deformity: one was a woman of 50-60 years with a severe idiopathic thoracic scoliosis buried in a brick box tomb; the other was an achondroplastic dwarf of 7-9 years. Both conditions probably led to serious and debilitating complications. Through a paleopathological, clinical, and historical multidisciplinary analysis, the present paper investigates the impact of these physical deformities on the daily life of the examined individual, discusses the potential disability they may have caused and explores how disability and deformity were experienced in the Early Middle Ages in Milan.