Original paper

A Late Antiquity case of a chronic osteomyelitis from the population of Cortijo Coracho, Córdoba, Spain (IV–VIII centuries AD)

Ortega-Ruiz, Ricardo; Merlo Martín, Cristin María; Leggio, Alessia; Botella Ortega, Daniel

Anthropologischer Anzeiger Volume 81 No. 3 (2024), p. 351 - 360

published: Jun 3, 2024
published online: Jan 16, 2024
manuscript accepted: Nov 13, 2023
manuscript revision received: Oct 20, 2023
manuscript revision requested: Jun 27, 2023
manuscript received: Mar 15, 2023

DOI: 10.1127/anthranz/2024/1722

BibTeX file

ArtNo. ESP140008103009, Price: 29.00 €

Download preview PDF Buy as PDF

Abstract

The Cortijo Coracho archaeological site dates from the Late Antiquity period, from the 5th to the 8th century AD. During this period, a number of populations settled in the area (Germanic peoples until Visigothic rule, Byzantine until the arrival of the Arabs, etc.), each of them concentrating the historical characteristics in the Sub-Baetic that are currently known. The Cortijo Coracho archaeological site is currently located in the city of Lucena (Cordoba, Spain), found after the works on the A-45 motorway. The necropolis consists of 294 inhumations and the remains of a basilica, although after a series of surveys it is estimated that there are around 700 additional burials, which would make it the largest necropolis with ad sancti burials surrounding a martyrial basilica dating back to the 4th century AD. Among the burials, 397 subjects were recovered, which implies a large presence of shared and/or reused burials. These subjects were transferred to the city’s museum, where they were examined, reorganised and classified. At this point, subjects of scientific interest were found, as is the case of subject 204, the topic of this article. This individual, described as an adult male, is an example of the living conditions of this period, since despite his injury on the left lower extremity, a double fracture aggravated by a chronic osteomyelitis infection, he continued to use that limb. This paper will give the details of that distinctive lesion and the possible hypotheses underlying it.

Keywords

bone trauma • infectious diseases • paleopathology • secondary infection • sequestrum