Medical-forensic research of injuries on the skulls discovered during archaeological excavations on Bolgar fortified settlement

The article presents some preliminary results of medical and forensic analysis of traumatic injuries on the skulls from medieval burials found on the territory of Bolgar fortified settlement. The researchers selected nine out of more than 300 skulls for research by visually detecting some mechanical injuries on them. Of these nine, only five were identified through stereomicroscopy, radiography, anatomical and morphological analysis as having got some intra vitam traumatic injuries, while the rest had post mortem injuries associated with exposure to some environmental factors (soil, ground waters, etc.). The study of intra vitam injuries identified specific, generic and group characteristics of traumatic weapons. It was established that not all of the identified injuries were fatal. Some injuries showed signs of healing, suggesting that the injured individual was alive some time after. Further research of lifetime injuries intends to determine objects, tools and weapons that caused traumas, and furthermore, to determine their group characteristics.