Evidence of Barbarian migrations and interpersonal violence during the Gothic War in sixth-century Tuscany: the case of the Goth horseman from San Genesio (Pisa)

During excavations carried out at the necropolis of San Genesio, taphonomic analysis permitted the detection of a small nucleus of distinctive graves dated to the sixth century and set within the wider context of autochthonous burials. This group was characterized by features such as wooden coffins and tree trunk burials, elements typical of the Germanic cultural milieu. Furthermore, anthropological analysis of the skeletal remains identified a case of Artificial Cranial Deformation (ACD), a distinctive element of Gothic ethnic groups. Individuals with ACD are extremely rare in the Italian archeological record and are related to the period in which the Gothic migrations took place. The subject, buried in a wooden casket, was a male individual with a deformed skull, polytraumatized, and most likely killed in combat, possibly during the Gothic War. This is the first Italian case of an individual with ACD, who died a certified violent death. The present study, despite the absence of traditional Germanic grave goods, has allowed to hypothesize the existence at San Genesio of an allochthonous group, a theory further supported by strontium isotope analysis.