Discovery of Viking-era man’s skull points to evidence of world’s first surgical procedure

The skull of a Viking-era man who had part of his skull cut out in the world’s oldest surgical procedure has been unearthed.

The remains of a man between 17 and 24 revealed a large oval hole in his skull, measuring three cm in diameter, from around the 9th century AD.

Archeologists believe he may have undergone trepanation—an ancient surgical procedure in which a hole is bored through a living human’s skull for migraines or seizures.

The skull of a Viking-era man who had part of his skull cut out in the world’s oldest surgical procedure has been unearthed. Cambridge Archaeological Unit/Da / SWNS

The find was made during a University of Cambridge training dig for students outside the city last year at the Iron