ABSTRACT

Anthropological research Studies of skeletal remains, including the examination of calcium and fluoride levels in bones, can provide information on physical appearance, diet, diseases, injuries and cause of death. Unfortunately, in recent years religious sentiments have brought anthropological research in Israel to an almost complete standstill. Even before this, relatively little work was carried out on human remains of Frankish date. One of the few exceptions is a discussion of remains from tombs in alQubayba published in 1947 by Bagatti (1993: 77-9). More recent work includes burials from cist graves in the nave of the church at Yoqneʾam (Smith and Sabari 1996) and Frankish burials have been found at Caesarea. An important discussion is that of the human remains uncovered in excavations at Parvum Gerinum

(Bradley 1994; Mitchell 1994). This excavation provided evidence of high infant mortality which was no doubt typical of this period. Amongst the diseases of the individuals buried here are meningitis, anaemia, enthesopathy and periostitis in infants, and osteomyelitis and gout in adults (Mitchell 1994: 67-70). Isotope analysis carried out on the teeth of individuals interred in the church burial grounds at Caesarea and Parvum Gerinum enabled the identification of individuals who spent their childhood in Europe and those who grew up in the Latin East (Mitchell and Millard 2013: 7-12).