A medieval bladder stone from Norwich, Norfolk

Abstract

A fragmented bladder stone was recovered from the pelvic cavity of a medieval mature male buried in the Franciscan cemetery of St Faith's, Norwich. A review of other British archaeologically derived bladder stones is also included.

A Case of Ancient Bladder Stones from Oluz Höyük, Amasya, Turkey

“…Therefore, it can be concluded that the Oluz Höyük object was a calculi formation, rather than a tissue calcification. The diagnosis as a bladder stone is supported by the concentric layer texture, which is typical for vesical calculi (Anderson, ), and the location of the calculi in the body (recovered from the sub‐pubic part of pelvis).…”

“…Most of the previously discovered ones were gathered from mummies (Streitz et al ., ; Giufra et al ., ). There have also been some reported from ancient burial places (Wells, ; Szalai & Jávor, ; Brothwell et al ., ; Anderson, ; Komar & Buikstra, ; Quinteleir, ; Armentano et al ., ). Palaeopathological studies on these objects can reveal valuable information about diseases in the past.…”

A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy

“…Ancient bladder stones have also been shown to be comprised of calcium oxalate, struvite and calcium carbonate. Interestingly a few large stones identified in archaeological material (Brothwell and Sandison, 1967; Piperno, 1976; Szalai and Jávor, 1987; Hawass and Brock, 2003; Anderson, 2003; Özdemir et al, 2015) have a predominantly apatite or carbonate-phosphate signature similar to the Troy nodules (Supplementary file 1D). While most earlier works (1967–1987) lack specific elemental details, precluding a more thorough comparison, the recent analysis of an ancient bladder stone from Oluz Höyük showed it to be composed almost exclusively of calcium phosphate (Özdemir et al, 2015).…”

The value of sieving of grave soil in the recovery of human remains: an experimental study of poorly preserved archaeological inhumations

“…In the current material, the bone recovered from the 4 mm mesh consisted mainly of unidentified fragments. Where soils are less hostile towards human bone survival, small bones of the hands, feet and other areas, and other items such as calcified soft tissue fragments (Baud and Kramer, 1991;Ríos et al, 2011), bladder stones (Anderson, 2003) etc would likely survive, and sieving would doubtless result in their retrieval in greater numbers. Given their small size, some of these elements would pass through a 4 mm mesh, so sieving to smaller mesh sizes and sorting smaller fractions, or at least scanning them for identifiable fragments, would be important.…”