Centuries-Old Skeleton with Prosthetic Hand Unearthed by German Archaeologists

A centuries-old skeleton with a metal prosthetic hand to replace four missing fingers has been discovered by archaeologists in Germany. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation revealed that carbon dating was used to approximate the man's death between 1450 and 1620, when he was believed to be between 30 and 50 years old. This implies that the prosthetic hand may be nearly 600 years old.

The man's left hand seems to have undergone amputation, and the remnants of the hand were enclosed in a hollowed-out case made of iron and other metals, indicating the advanced level of medical knowledge during that era, as confirmed by archaeologists.

An X-ray shows the bones surrounded by metal.

Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege

According to Walter Irlinger, the Bavarian archaeological monument conservation department's head, the left hand is equipped with a hollow hand prosthesis that includes four additional fingers. The fingers in question - index, middle, ring, and little fingers - are constructed using sheet metal and are incapable of movement. These replicas of fingers are positioned in a parallel manner, gently curved. It is believed that the prosthesis was fastened to the stump using straps.

A fabric resembling a bandage was discovered within the artificial hand, indicating its purpose as a cushion for the amputated limb.

The discovered remnants were located in a burial site close to a church in the town of Freising, Bavaria. This archaeological find took place during excavation work related to utilities, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Munich.

Archaeologists estimated that the man was between 30 and 50 years old when he died.

The Freising region witnessed multiple conflicts in the Middle Ages, as well as the Thirty Years War from 1618 to 1648. These confrontations likely resulted in an upsurge in amputations and subsequently an increased demand for prosthetics, as mentioned in the statement.

Archaeologists have discovered around 50 prostheses from the same era in Central Europe, varying in complexity. These range from a fixed prosthetic found in Friesing to a highly intricate and functional hand prosthetic famously worn by the knight Götz von Berlichingen after 1530. In addition, a 3,000-year-old prosthetic wooden toe was unearthed by archaeologists in Egypt in 1997.

Worn by a priests daughter, the toe was was made to both enable walking and look aesthetically natural, archaeologists later discovered.