This Pregnant Medieval Woman With Head Wound 'Gave Birth' In Her Grave

An early Medieval grave near Bologna, Italy, was revealed to contain an injured pregnant woman with a fetus between her legs. Based on the positioning of the tiny bones,
researchers concluded this was a coffin birth, when a baby is forcibly expelled from its mother's body after her death. The pregnancy and the woman's head trauma may also be related.


The burial, dating to the 7th-8th century AD, was found in the town of Imola in northern Italy in 2010. Because the adult skeleton was found face-up and intact, archaeologists determined it to be a purposeful burial in a stone-lined grave. The fetal remains between her legs and the injury to her head, however, triggered an in-depth investigation, which was recently published in the journal World Neurosurgery by researchers at the Universities of Ferrara and Bologna.

Based on the length of the upper thigh bone, the fetus was estimated to be about 38 weeks’ gestation. The baby’s head and upper body were below the pelvic cavity, while the leg bones were almost certainly still inside it. This means it was positioned like a near-term fetus: head down in preparation for birth. But it also means that the fetus was likely partially delivered.