Archaeologists have discovered a ghastly natural phenomenon called ‘Coffin Birth’ in a medieval grave in Italy. Found in 2010 in Imola, Bologna, the skeletal remains of a young woman with a hole in her skull were found with the skeleton of a foetus between her thighs. Researchers have determined that the hole was likely the result of a medical treatment. In the grave, the foetus was in an unusual position – its head and torso between her thighs but its legs were in her pelvic cavity, as though it had been partially expelled. Hence, the researchers determined that this was consistent with a phenomenon known as ‘Coffin Birth’.

Researchers from the University of Ferrara and the University of Bologna determined the woman to be aged between 25 to 35 years and was 38 weeks in gestation. A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks, so the mother was extremely close to giving birth when she died. Researchers believe that the pregnancy, the death and the hole found in the corpse’s skull in this case could all be related. According to their paper, the research team believes that the hole – measuring 0.2 inches in diameter – drilled in the centre of the skull was caused by trepanation, an old medical practice of drilling a hole in the skull to treat a variety of ailments.

The researchers wrote in their paper, “Since trepanation was once used in the treatment of hypertension to reduce blood pressure in the skull, we theorised that this lesion may be associated to the treatment of a hypertensive pregnancy disorder (pre-eclampsia).” Despite or because of the treatment the woman didn’t pull through. The paper also notes, she could have died because of labour complications.

What is Coffin Birth?

As eerie and queer as it sounds, Coffin Birth also known as Post-mortem Extrusion, is the expulsion of a non-viable foetus through the vaginal opening of a decomposing female. Although it’s never been observed first-hand, researchers believe it is the result of the build-up gas which applies pressure to the uterus, causing it to be expelled and sometimes turned inside out. The gas is produced by bacteria in the organs and abdominal cavity during the process known as putrefaction.

Gynaecologist Jen Gunter told Forbes, “The cervix shouldn’t relax with death after rigor mortis disappears. I suspect that what happens is the pressure from the gas builds up and the dead foetus is delivered through a rupture. It basically blows a hole through the uterus into the vagina, as the vagina is much thinner than the cervix.”

These days it is rare to encounter a coffin birth, as the embalming process involves pumping chemical preservatives and disinfectants into the body, typically interrupting the likelihood of coffin birth. After studying the remains, researchers concluded the burial belonged to the Lombard period (7th to 8th century AD). The research has been published in the journal World Neurosurgery. However, the sex of the baby was impossible to determine, reported Live Science.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 27, 2018 01:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).