Mitchell Piers D
Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2003 Jun;121(2):117-24. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.10205.
In 1912, 68 medieval crania were excavated from a cave at Safed in the eastern Mediterranean and brought to the United Kingdom. It is only recently that these skulls have been studied for evidence of disease. One adult individual demonstrates multiple lesions of the cranial vault, compatible with treponematosis. Radiocarbon dating suggests the year of death to be between 1290-1420 AD. This range equates to the mamluk period, just after the crusades. This is the oldest dated case of treponematosis in the Middle East, and the first to confirm its presence there before the epidemiologically important transatlantic voyage of Christopher Columbus. The finding has significant implications for our understanding of the introduction of the disease to the Middle East and of the medieval diagnosis of ulcerating skin conditions by medical practitioners in the Mediterranean world.
1912年，68具中世纪颅骨从地中海东部萨费德的一个洞穴中发掘出来，并被带到了英国。直到最近，这些头骨才被研究以寻找疾病证据。一名成年个体显示出头盖骨有多处病变，符合密螺旋体病的特征。放射性碳年代测定表明死亡年份在公元1290年至1420年之间。这个时间段相当于十字军东征刚结束后的马穆鲁克时期。这是中东地区有年代记载的最古老的密螺旋体病病例，也是第一个在具有重要流行病学意义的克里斯托弗·哥伦布跨大西洋航行之前证实该病在那里存在的病例。这一发现对于我们理解该疾病传入中东以及地中海世界的医学从业者对溃疡性皮肤病的中世纪诊断具有重要意义。
