CAL: An osteological timeline from the Roman Age to contemporary times

Human remains, belonging to archaeological contexts, can provide fundamental information for the reconstruction of lifestyle and disease. This presentation aims to present the archaeological and historical component of CAL (Collezione Antropologica Labanof) which includes over 5,000 skeletons, both archaeological and contemporary. The archaeological section includes about 3000 individuals from various Italian contexts, especially from the city of Milano (the Roman Mediolanum), from inhumations and cremations of the Roman Imperial Age (1st century AD) to the modern age, going through Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. These skeletons have already revealed interesting changes in the population of Milano over 2000 years from a demographic and ethnic point of view, as well as from the perspective of mortality, morbidity and disease \u2013 for example the first appearance of tuberculosis, syphilis and other infectious diseases, as well as the incidence of trauma \u2013 lethal or not. Interestingly the collection counts one of the first testimonies of torture victims of the wheel. The collection includes remains of skeletons from some of the largest burial sites in the city, such as the Roman necropolis of la Cattolica (600 individuals), the cremation site of Policlinico, and the remains of over 30,000 patients of the first hospital in Milan founded in the 15th century, as well as mass graves of the victims of the 17th century plague. CAL, thanks to agreements with the Italian superintendence of archaeology, is constantly growing