Miklós Kásler - Zoltán Szentirmay (szerk.): Identifying the Árpád Dynasty Skeletons Interred in the Matthias Church. Applying data from historical, archaeological, anthropological, radiological, morphological, radiocarbon dating and genetic research (Budapest, 2021)

CHAPTER FOUR – Palaeopathological investigations

SUMMARY: The palaeopathological survey conducted by Dr Józsa

uncovered

several new aspects. Firstly, he described anomalies in bone development, for example, sacralis

spina

bifida (open spine) that could often be observed, which in our case was present on the skeleton of Béla

III

and skeletons 1/3 G5 and 1/4 H6. On skeleton 1/4 H6, Forestiers disease was diagnosed for the first time, which is related to hereditary predisposition via a sequence variation and to dietary factors that cause the disease. Describing Forestiers disease pointed toward the conclusion that skeleton 1/4 H6 could be a very high-ranking member of the clergy, confirmed by the burial circumstances (stonelined grave, first half of the 13th century). As for relation to the Árpád Dynasty,

however, the genetic analyses presented below ruled this out. Several types of degenerative bone diseases were precisely described on the skeletons studied by Dr Józsa;

by

our contemporary standards, these diseases seem unusual for the age of the skeletons at the time of death, and thus we can compare them with the occurrence of similar diseases in modern times.

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