{"id":128126,"date":"2026-07-12T18:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/128126\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T18:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:49:07","slug":"scientists-have-revealed-how-the-ancient-inhabitants-of-vilnius-lived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/128126\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists have revealed how the ancient inhabitants of Vilnius lived"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who were the people who walked the streets of Vilnius 500 or even 700 years ago? What did they eat, what diseases did they have? Did they all live the same way?\u00a0Did people from other countries come to this city?? Answers to these questions were sought Vilnius University<\/a> (VU) Faculty of Medicine scientists, who implemented one of the largest bioarchaeological research projects in Lithuania “Bioarchaeological characteristics of the inhabitants of Vilnius in the 13th-18th centuries and their development”. During it, a comprehensive database of the ancient inhabitants of Vilnius was created, including data on the remains of as many as 2290 people from 19 different burial sites. The researched material covered more than five centuries of Vilnius’ history.<\/p>\n

According to the project leader, Prof. Dr. Rimantas Jankauskas, Head of the Center for Human Bioarchaeology and Paleogenetics at the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University, this project is important not only in Lithuania: \u201cDatabases of such a size are rare even in international practice, therefore the accumulated data will become an important source for both Lithuanian and foreign scientists in the future.\u201d The research team consisted of Assoc. Prof. Dr. \u017dydr\u016bn\u0117 Miliauskien\u0117, Dr. Justina Kozakait\u0117 and doctoral student R\u016bta Brindzait\u0117, employees of the Center for Human Bioarchaeology and Paleogenetics at the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University, Prof. Dr. Giedr\u0117 Motuzait\u0117 Matuzevi\u010di\u016bt\u0117 Keen, Faculty of History of Vilnius University, researchers of the Institute of Lithuanian History Dr. Irma Kapl\u016bnait\u0117 and Dr. Rytis Jonaitis, and the statistical analysis of the data was performed by Prof. Dr. Audron\u0117 Jakaitien\u0117 of the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University and master\u2019s student Agnie\u0161ka Rudinska.<\/p>\n

How can you study people who lived several hundred years ago?<\/p>\n

It seems to many that from old bones one can only determine a person’s gender or approximate age. However, modern bioarchaeology allows us to learn much more. Anthropological, archaeological, historical and advanced laboratory methods were used during the project. For each individual, their burial place, social status, religious affiliation, age at death, gender, signs of various diseases and injuries in the skeleton, the condition of the teeth and other biological indicators were recorded.<\/p>\n

An important part of the project was laboratory research. During this time, scientists conducted 20 new radiocarbon (C14) dating, 130 new carbon and nitrogen isotope studies, and 75 strontium and oxygen isotope analyses. These methods allow not only to date the remains more accurately, but also to reconstruct the person’s diet, living conditions, and even determine whether he grew up in Vilnius or was a newcomer from other regions.<\/p>\n

Food is a mirror of social inequality<\/p>\n

One of the main goals of the project was to find out what Vilnius residents ate at different times. To address this issue, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone collagen were studied. Such chemical indicators allow us to determine what kind of food a person ate in the last years of their life.<\/p>\n

The results of the study showed that from the 13th to the 18th century. the diet of Vilnius residents gradually changed. \u201cIn the scope of our project, researchers identified a significant increase in protein consumption, indicating that in later periods, the number of products of higher trophic levels of organisms in the human diet increased \u2013 freshwater fish and various animal-derived food products, and possibly plants fertilized with manure were also included in the diet more. Tooth wear indicators indicated a general shift in nutrition to a less abrasive \u2013 a diet that wears down the surface of the teeth \u2013 diet. Thus, the people of Vilnius in the 18th century ate differently than their predecessors four hundred years earlier. These changes are most likely related to economic, environmental and cultural processes that took place in the city over several centuries,\u201d says Prof. Dr. R. Jankauskas.<\/p>\n

The study revealed traces of social inequality in particular. The diet of people with higher social status was significantly richer in animal protein. In addition, the differences found between people of different social status also indicate unequal access to food: wealthy people were likely to consume meat, fish and other more expensive products more often. In individual cases, an improvement in nutrition in adulthood or, conversely, a deterioration was recorded, so it was possible to suspect an increase or decrease in a person’s status with age.<\/p>\n

The diet of the lower classes was likely dominated by plant foods and products of lower nutritional value. However, one discovery surprised the researchers themselves: when analyzing childhood nutrition based on dental tissue data, it turned out that social differences in childhood were much less noticeable. Children of both the elite and ordinary citizens usually ate similar foods. This suggests that social differences became most pronounced when a person entered the adult world.<\/p>\n

Religion affected not only faith, but also daily food<\/p>\n

Vilnius in the Middle Ages and early modern times was a multi-denominational city. It was inhabited by Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Protestants, and members of other religious communities. Bioarchaeological studies of the remains of ancient Vilnius residents have shown that religious affiliation may have influenced diet. Protestant diets were the richest in animal protein. Catholics occupied an intermediate position, and Orthodox diets were the least protein-rich. Unitarian monks (buried in the Basilian Church) ate a diet rich in animal protein, no different from the social elite of other denominations.<\/p>\n

The researchers believe that such differences could be due to religious traditions, fasting practices, and different dietary restrictions. This discovery is important because it allows for the first objective assessment of lifestyle differences between religious communities based on direct biological data.<\/p>\n

Many ancient Vilnius residents suffered broken ribs and hand bones.<\/p>\n

The project also revealed another side of city life. In order to identify the fractures of ancient Vilnius residents, all bones were visually analyzed in detail and X-rays were taken. In this way, an attempt was made to determine the mechanism of injury and distinguish accidental injuries from violent injuries.<\/p>\n

Trauma analysis showed that the ancient inhabitants of Vilnius suffered significantly more bone fractures than rural residents or people from smaller towns. The most common fractures were to the ribs and wrists. This is consistent with historical sources that tell of frequent conflicts, violence, fights, and hard physical labor in an urban environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the researchers, men were more likely to experience injuries than women, but over time, injuries also increased among women. This may be related to the changing role of women in the city’s economic life and labor market.<\/p>\n

Another unexpected finding was the higher rate of skull injuries among elites, suggesting that people of higher social class also faced specific risks, perhaps through participation in armed conflicts, political struggles, or targeted violence.<\/p>\n

Tuberculosis \u2013 the city’s invisible companion<\/p>\n

During the study, scientists also looked for traces of diseases. It is believed that infectious diseases in Vilnius, as in other European cities, were one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality. Some diseases leave clear changes in the skeleton, for example, porosity in the orbital area (cribra orbitalis) are formed as a possible consequence of anemia and other substance disorders, and horizontal lines on tooth enamel indicate “stops” in a person’s development when stress, deprivation, starvation, or serious illnesses were experienced in childhood. However, most diseases do not leave traces in the bones or these changes are non-specific, so they cannot be detected by conventional methods.<\/p>\n

The most common infectious disease found in the sample of ancient Vilnius residents was tuberculosis. 17 cases of chronic pleurisy, 17 cases of tuberculosis-damaged spines, and one tuberculous knee joint were found. Since only a small proportion of tuberculosis cases leave traces in the bones, scientists assume that the actual number of patients could be many times higher. This indicates that tuberculosis was one of the most important public health problems in historical Vilnius.<\/p>\n

Eight cases of tertiary syphilis were also identified, mostly in the remains of Vilnius residents from the 17th\u201318th centuries. These data confirm historical sources attesting to the spread of this disease during the aforementioned period. Several dozen cases of tumors, mostly benign, and only one case of cancer metastases of unknown origin were also diagnosed.<\/p>\n

Dental studies also provided important information. Scientists found that dental diseases were most common in the 13th\u201315th centuries. Later, the situation improved significantly, but in the 17th\u201318th centuries, dental problems increased again. People of higher social status were characterized by better oral health. Meanwhile, women suffered from dental diseases more often than men. According to the researchers, these differences reflect general inequalities in quality of life and access to resources. Further studies are currently underway, including other dental pathologies, such as periodontal disease and tartar.<\/p>\n

Further and more accurate diagnostics of the prevalence of various diseases is possible by applying the methods of molecular biology and paleogenetics that are still being developed and are just beginning to be applied. According to Prof. Dr. R. Jankauskas, these studies are a further perspective for scientists.<\/p>\n

Foreign remains also discovered<\/p>\n

One of the most impressive parts of the scientific project was migration research. Using strontium and oxygen isotope analysis conducted by Prof. Christophe Snoeck at the Free University of Brussels laboratory, it was possible to identify people who spent their childhood outside of Vilnius.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another young man, buried in a mass grave on Polocko St. with three other individuals, was examined and found to be of more eastern and continental origin, and his diet was also different. This burial site in Vilnius was clearly used temporarily, during the turmoil of the mid-17th century. According to the researchers, it can be assumed that this was a recently arrived immigrant or refugee who died shortly after arrival and was buried in a mass grave.<\/p>\n

The diet of some of the people who arrived changed significantly over the course of their lives, so we can talk not only about geographical movement, but also about social mobility. This is the first time in Lithuania that isotopic studies have allowed for such specific identification of individual first-generation migrants and their possible directions of origin.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne young man, who had eaten a lot of plant-based food as a child, ate significantly more protein in the last years of his life. He was buried in a regular Orthodox cemetery on Suba\u010dius Street, but two lead balls (bullets?) were found in his chest, so he probably died from a gunshot wound. Meanwhile, the other two men were buried outside the city walls at Suba\u010dius Street 41, along with several group graves. They had their heads cut off. We would have suspected that they were foreigners, punished invaders, but according to isotopic data, they were local residents,\u201d shared the variety of conclusions, Prof. Dr. R. Jankauskas.<\/p>\n

The project will become the basis for future research<\/p>\n

Vilnius University scientists emphasize that the most important result of the project is not just individual discoveries. \u201cFor the first time, a comprehensive, systematic and internationally unique bioarchaeological database of Vilnius residents has been created, covering more than 500 years of the city\u2019s history. It will allow for even more precise research into human health, social inequality, migration, quality of life and biodiversity in the future,\u201d said the project leader, Prof. Dr. R. Jankauskas.<\/p>\n

The project has already yielded results in the international scientific community \u2013 high-level scientific publications have been prepared and are being prepared on its basis. However, most importantly, for the first time, it has become possible not only to read historical sources about old Vilnius, but also to look at the lives of its inhabitants through the biological traces of the people themselves, which have survived to this day.<\/p>\n

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