A severe case of rickets in the Roman Imperial Age (I-II century A.D.)

During the excavations in the necropolis Collatina in Rome, a skeleton of an adult female with the typical signs of a metabolic disease was found. The skeletal remains, dated to the Imperial Age (I-II century A.D.), show some pathological alterations of spine, femurs and tibias; the dentition presents severe dentoalveolar disease and the gonial angles of jaw are inverted. The spine presents fusion of five thoracic vertebrae, with collapse of the verterbral bodies resulting in severe scoliosis. The femurs are curved and show a flattening of distal metaphyses and the tibias have a marked degree of lateral bowing. The macroscopic and radiological evidence permit the differential diagnosis of a sever case of rickets.