Postgraduates at University of Torino Study Human Remains from Santa Maria della Stella

Graduate students at the University of Torino are collaborating with Dr. Rosa Boano to examine fragmented and dispersed human bones unearthed from the nuns' cemetery at the Monastery of Santa Maria della Stella.

Students in Dr Boano's course, Biological Anthropology for Cultural Heritage, are examining and cataloging five boxes of disarticulated remains that have yet to be studied. Over two days, the students did practical laboratory work and cleaned fragmentary bones contained in two of the boxes. 

The preservation of these newly-studied remains rivals that of the 38 individual burials excavated from the monastery's cemetery, previously uncovered beneath a car park. Some skulls display green stains, likely from contact with metal objects like pins. Among the sediment, three metal pins of different sizes were discovered, along with pottery fragments and animal bones. The students are mastering standard laboratory procedures for analyzing human osteological material, significantly enhancing our Team's understanding of the lives of these premodern nuns!

The next step is for Dr. Boano and her students to match the fragmentary bones to specific burials and determine the minimum number of individuals (MNI) represented in the entire assemblage.