Story perspectives

Iron Age Woman’s Skull Shows Deliberate Brain Removal, Bone Reassembly

6/10/2026

50 5

Summary

Story summary

Laura Castells Navarro reported cut marks and a fracture on an Iron Age woman's skull indicating deliberate brain removal.
The femur, humeri and ulna were reshaped, polished and re-inserted while DNA places the woman 50 BC–70 AD as a cousin of a 15-year-old male with no complex trauma.
Researchers noted similar modified skull fragments at other Iron Age British sites and said the reassembly shows reverence and anatomical knowledge in funerary practices.

1 of 1

Story summary

Laura Castells Navarro reported cut marks and a fracture on an Iron Age woman's skull indicating deliberate brain removal.
The femur, humeri and ulna were reshaped, polished and re-inserted while DNA places the woman 50 BC–70 AD as a cousin of a 15-year-old male with no complex trauma.
Researchers noted similar modified skull fragments at other Iron Age British sites and said the reassembly shows reverence and anatomical knowledge in funerary practices.