Strong but not Unbeatable: Two Cases of Healed Severe Skull Trauma in Males Buried in Medieval Mass Graves (Kutná Hora-Sedlec, Czech Republic)

This paper presents two cases of healed skull trauma recovered from medieval mass burial sites in Kutná Hora-Sedlec (Kutná Hora District/CZ). These recently unearthed burial pits are historically and contextually associated with two key catastrophes: (1) a famine in the early 14th century; and (2) the Black Death in the mid-14th century. The first skull presents evidence of survival from severe cranial injury with highly probable surgical intervention. The second one presents evidence of successful skull surgery, confirming the practice of trepanation performed by a skilled specialist in a given region at a given time in history. Although both individuals had been robust enough to withstand the pain and strain of the treatment, indicating considerable resilience to survive the skull trauma, they succumbed to mass infection or famine that killed a large number of inhabitants of this prominent medieval mining region.

Waste heaps in the urban environment as negative factors of urbanization

Urbanization in Ukraine has led to the development of the Lviv-Volyn coal basin. One of the main negative factors in the operation of coal basins are mine dumps. In addition to environmental hazards, waste heaps of coal mines violate the attractiveness and aesthetics of towns. The wastewater from waste heaps is a secondary factor in reducing the environmental safety of the coal-mining region. These waters are concentrated at the foot of landfills forming the man-made reservoirs. The research presents the negative factors of mine dumps and the results of physical and chemical analysis of subtericone wastewater and its impact on environmental pollution. It is established that the most polluted is the wastewater from waste heaps of the Mezhyrichanska mine which is caused by its operating process. The man-made polluted wastewater from heaps is a secondary factor in reducing the level of ecological danger of the coal-mining region. These waters are concentrated at the foot of landfills in the form of man-made reservoirs. The aim of the research is to indicate the negative factors of urban waste heaps by studying the physical and chemical properties of underspoil waters within the cities of Chervonograd and Novovolynsk.

Community Forest and Rural Household Dependency in Mining Region

The present paper attempts to analyse the households' dependency on community forest for their livelihood and food security in the mining region of Odisha. Mining has caused the highest forest-land loss in Odisha. Using z-test, f-test, and t-test, it has been found that extraction of minerals has not only caused shifting of livelihood from forest-based to mining related work but also has significantly reduced the dependence of households on forest products for consumption. In addition, it has reduced the contribution of forest to food security as calorie intake from forest food is significantly less in mining households than their non-mining counterparts. As the life span of a mine is finite, what will happen when the mines close? Thus, this calls for a policy intervention to carry out mining operations in a sustainable manner so that natural resources like forest are not sacrificed for short-term economic gains.