La trapanazione cranica nel Medioevo: il caso di Cencelle (Tarquinia, VT)

Cranial trepanation is one of the oldest surgical techniques practiced on humans. An individual was found with a surgical hole at the Cencelle site (VT) and this discovery aroused interest in research to understand the basis of this medical practice. For this research, several aspects were investigated: for the medicine aspect historical, the investigation concerned ancient sources, to understand the level of knowledge of this practice from ancient times doctors, and more specifically, the medieval ones. For the archaeological and anthropological aspects, other cases from the broader context of medieval Europe were investigated and compared, to understand some aspects linked to this medical practice, such as its actual application, its diffusion, the technique possible evolution, this practice recipients and, finally, the survival rate.