A Comprehensive Study of Individuals from Two Graves of the Kyz-Aul Necropolis

Abstract

Two graves of the 2 nd—3 rd centuries were found by the archaeological expedition to the Kyz-Aul necropolis in 2021. They contained remains of six individuals. We implemented an anthropological study of the skeletons and an archaeoparasitological analysis of soil samples. We identified sex and age and described pathological and individual features of the appearance of children and adults. An intravital artificial deformation of the skull was recorded in two adult individuals from grave 199. There are no signs of skull deformation in children from the same grave. Whipworm (Lat. Trichuris trichiura) eggs were found in soil samples from four out of six individuals. It is an intestinal parasite that enters the human body through the consumption of contaminated foods or unboiled water. The study showed that children and adults buried in the necropolis have many features characteristic of the settled population of the Northern Black Sea region, Rome and Roman provinces.