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The last Medici may not have died of syphilis after all

The last Medici may not have died of syphilis after all | Archaeology News | Scoop.it

In 1743, the last member of the family that had ruled Florence for almost 300 years died a slow and painful death.

 

Historical documents suggest that Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici suffered from syphilis or breast cancer. But a first look at samples of her bone suggests that syphilis may not have killed her.

 

In 1966, the tombs of the Medici family were swamped in mud during severe flooding of Florence, which many feared had damaged the bodies. But Anna Maria Luisa's skeleton was found to be mostly intact when it was exhumed last October as part of a research collaboration between the University of Florence in Italy and the Reiss Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, Germany. The first pictures from the exhumation were released at a press briefing today.

 

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Historic sites under threat | Herald Scotland

Historic sites under threat | Herald Scotland | Archaeology News | Scoop.it

The University of the Highlands and Islands and Orkney's community archaeologist, Julie Gibson, said: "Scotland has the longest coastline in Europe and, as a maritime nation, much of our heritage relates to the sea. Around Orkney, more than one thousand archaeological sites are threatened or are being actively damaged.

David Connolly's insight:

Too true!

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