Archaeologists arrived at Marcel Loubans cave near Bologna, Italy, in 2017 to embark on a unique rescue mission . Their goal was to extract a solitary human skull that had somehow become marooned on a rocky ledge deep inside the cave, at the top of a 40-foot (12 m) vertical shaft that could only be reached with specialized climbing equipment. Fortunately, the archaeologists were able to successfully retrieve the severed head, which consisted of a cranium with no jawbone attached. It was found encrusted within multiple layers of sediment and covered with a thin layer of calcite cave rock, suggesting that water had been flowing over the top of it for centuries.
After retrieval, the cranium was shipped to the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology at the University of Bologna. Over the past three years a team of researchers from the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bologna have been playing the role of historical detectives, applying the very latest in advanced exploratory technology to unlock the secrets of the detached skull, and reveal more about the life and experiences of its former owner. In a study just published online in the open access, peer reviewed journal PLOS ONE , the scientists have revealed their full findings to the public for the first time—and they have quite the tale to tell.
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