Brief Communication: Coexistence of Melorheostosis and DISH in a Female Skeleton From Magna Graecia (Sixth Century BC) Alessandro Canci, 1 * Damiano Marchi, 2 Davide Caramella, 3 Gino Fornaciari, 4 and Silvana M. Borgognini Tarli 2 1 Department of Cultural Heritage University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy 2 Unit of Anthropology, Department of Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy 3 Division of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Department of Oncology, Transplants and Advanced Technologies in Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy 4 Section of History of Medicine and Paleopathology, Department of Oncology, Transplants and Advanced Technologies in Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy KEY WORDS sclerosing bone dysplasia; diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis; Magna Graecia ABSTRACT This paper reports on a case of massive hyperostotic alterations observed in the skeleton of an adult woman from the necropolis of Montescaglioso Belve- dere (Basilicata, Southern Italy) attributed to the Eno- trian culture and dated to the 6th century BC. Hyperos- totic changes involve joints, the vertebral column, and the lower limbs. In particular, the large flowing ossification in both the thoracic (T6 –T10) and lumbar (L2–L5) tracts, the sacralization of L5, accompanied by sacroiliac fusion on the left side, and the proliferative bone production on both the metaphyseal portion of the left tibia and the left third metatarsal are described. The vertebral antero-lateral os- sification and the sacroiliac fusion support a diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), while the flowing bone formation on the lower limbs supports a diagnosis of melorheostosis. The pathological conditions described here were already described in the literature, but this is the first reported case of the coexistence of DISH and the very rare melorheostosis. Furthermore, the skeleton from Montescaglioso Belvedere represents the first case of this disease described for ancient Europe, therefore adding a valuable contribution to the recon- struction of the antiquity and distribution of skeletal dys- plasias. Am J Phys Anthropol 126:305–310, 2005. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. This paper describes a case of diffuse idiopathic skel- etal hyperostosis (DISH) and melorheostosis in a fe- male skeleton from Montescaglioso (Matera, Basili- cata, Southern Italy). The necropolis was dated to the 6th century BC and attributed to the Enotrian culture, then widespread in an area corresponding to present southern Campania, Basilicata, and northern Cala- bria. According to classical literary sources, Enotrians were considered the descendants of Lycaon, king of Arcadia, who immigrated to Italy in the 17th century BC; however, according to Antiochus of Syracuse, they were the most ancient indigenous inhabitants of Italı `a (Nafissi, 1985; De Juliis, 1996). Enotrian economy was based on agriculture, sheep farming, and the pottery trade. In 630 BC, the Achaeans founded Metaponto, a leading town of Magna Graecia located on the Ionian coast of Basilicata. Its cultural and economic influence was crucial to the development of neighboring Eno- trian sites. Montescaglioso is located on the left side of the Bradano river, on a hill 364 m high and 20 km from the Ionian coast. The position of the town was strate- gically favorable because of easy communication with the coastal settlements through the Bradano Valley and easy defensibility of the site. During the 6th cen- tury BC, Montescaglioso was a flourishing Enotrian town, wholly Hellenized because of privileged trading relations within the proschoros of Metaponto. Montescaglioso has been excavated since the begin- ning of the 20th century. During one of these excava- tions, a necropolis located at Viale Belvedere, dated to the 6th century BC, was discovered. Various burial patterns were represented: simple ground dicthes, sandstone and clay sarcophagi, enchytrismoi (pottery vessels) for children, and even monumental graves such as a tuff chamber burial. Bodies were lying in Grant sponsor: MIUR 2003–2004. *Correspondence to: Alessandro Canci, Unita ` di Antropologia, Via S. Maria 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy. E-mail: canci@discau.unipi.it Received 23 December 2003; accepted 14 March 2004. DOI 10.1002/ajpa.20077 Published online 13 August 2004 in Wiley InterScience (www. interscience.wiley.com). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 126:305–310 (2005) © 2004 WILEY-LISS, INC.