1,000 BRAIN SURGERY YEARS AGO IN IRELAND; Archaeologists find skull of ancient woman who survived op.

Byline: RORY TEVLIN

BRAIN surgery was carried out in Ireland more than 1,000 years ago and patients survived, incredible new evidence shows.

Archaeologists also found remains at a site in Ballyhanna, Co Donegal, that indicate diseases like tuberculosis and cancer were big killers in medieval Ireland.

The extraordinary evidence emerged following the discovery of an unknown medieval church and the graves of around 1,300 men, women and children along the banks of the River Erne.

The findings were outlined by a team of scientists from Sligo Institute of Technology and Queen's University Belfast as part of Science Week Ireland.

Michael MacDonagh, senior archaeologist with the National Roads Authority, said: "It was an incredible discovery because it was completely unexpected.

"It is possible that because Ballyshannon suffered so disastrously during the Famine these burial grounds just fell out of local memory."

The body of a young woman found at Ballyhanna showed signs of brain surgery and archaeologists believe she survived the operation.

Mr MacDonagh added: "We know she survived as the skull shows signs of bone growth after a hole was cut into it."

The church and burial ground was unearthed during the construction of the Ballyshannon/Bundoran bypass in 2003. Carbon dating has proved people were burying their dead at Ballyhanna from the seventh to the 9th centuries AD up to the 16th century.

At the Science Of A Cemetery lecture osteoarchaeologists revealed they found possible cases of cancer and joint diseases but there were also more grisly discoveries with skulls displaying deep sword cuts.

Other evidence revealed people with disabilities were treated with care and respect in medieval Ireland.

The archaeological team found two cases of a genetic condition known as bumpy bone disease and also discovered the remains of a man whose legs had been fused together.

Mr MacDonagh said: "This man lived into his 30s which was a typical lifespan then.

"He would have had to be carried everywhere. He was buried with respect which tells us something about how medieval society treated people with disabilities."

The discoveries have also led to an investigation into whether cystic fibrosis was present 1,000 years ago.

Irish Mirror Comment: Page 10

CAPTION(S):

HEADLINE NEWS Research assistant Roisin McCarthy with the Ballyhanna man in 2003