We evaluated a healed fracture that was observed in the shaft of a bovine femur from an Early Roman settlement context at the site of Wange, Belgium. Using external observation and X-ray images, the specimen is described, paying particular attention to displacement of the bone ends, shortening of the bone, and callus formation. Similar fractures seen in femora of a modern Derby’s antelope (Taurotragus derbianus) and of a modern eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri) are described, and we discuss why the incidence of healed femur fractures is so limited in large mammals.

Peer Review, International Redaction Board, Impact Factor

IF 0.726