Archaeologists have uncovered a 400-year-old body with an iron hand in an impressive example of medieval prosthetics.
The skeleton’s artificial limb shows surprisingly advanced medical practices, according to researchers.
It was discovered during pipeline work in a grave near the Freising parish church of St George in Bavaria.
Radiocarbon dating of the skeleton revealed that the prosthesis wearer – a man aged between 30 and 50 – must have died between 1450 and 1620.
‘Even for experienced archaeologists, this find is something special – a skeleton with parts of the fingers of the left hand missing,’ said a spokesperson for the Bavarian State Office for Monument Protection (BLfD).
‘Traces on the preserved bones indicate a possible amputation there. The remains of the hand are stuck in a sophisticated arrangement.
‘The metal part reveals how advanced medicine was in the 15th Century.’
Dr Walter Irlinger, head of the Bavarian archaeological monument conservation department, added: ‘The hollow hand prosthesis on the left hand added four fingers. The index, middle, ring and little fingers are individually formed from sheet metal and are immobile.
‘The finger replicas lie parallel to each other, slightly curved. Presumably the prosthesis was made with straps on the stump of the hand tied up.’
The BLfD said Freising was the scene of military offensives on several occasions,
for example during the Thirty Years’ War between 1618 and 1648.
‘This probably led to increased numbers of amputations and increased demand for prostheses,’ they said.
The office suggested the most famous ‘Iron Hand’ was worn by German knight Götz von Berlichinge, who lost his right arm at the wrist when cannon fire forced his sword against him in 1504, during the War of the Succession of Landshut.
‘In contrast to the Freising iron hand, his prosthesis was movable and technically exceptionally complex,’ they added.
However, neither of the iron hands are even close to being the earliest example of prosthetic limbs. That title goes to a pair of toes.
One, the ‘Cairo toe’, is thought to be between 2,700 and 3,000 years old, and was found on the mummified body of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman. It is largely made of wood, with the components bound together using leather.
The second, possibly older example, is the ‘Greville Chester toe’, aged between 2,600 and 3,400 years old. This toe was made from cartonnage, a kind of papier-mâché.
Neither are flexible, suggesting both were for cosmetic purposes.
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