3rd-century-B.C. woman was buried facedown with a nail hole in her skull. Here’s why.

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3 years ago

February 22, 2023

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The strange facedown burial of a young woman, who likely had a nail driven into her skull around the time she died in Sardinia more than 2,000 years ago, could be the result of ancient beliefs about epilepsy, according to new research.

The facedown burial may indicate that the individual suffered from a disease, while an unusual nail-shaped hole in the woman’s skull may be the result of a remedy that sought to prevent epilepsy from spreading to others — a medical belief at the time, according to a study coming out in the April issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (opens in new tab) .

Epilepsy is now known to be a brain condition that can’t be transmitted to other people, but at the time the woman died, “The idea was that the disease that killed the person in the grave could be a problem for the entire community,” said study co-author Dario D’Orlando (opens in new tab) , an archaeologist and historian at the University of Cagliari in Sardinia.

The tomb is one of more than 120 Punic tombs at the Monte Luna necropolis in southern Sardinia, which was established after the sixth century B.C. and was used until the second century B.C. (Image credit: R. Paba)

The unusual burial was found in a tomb in the Necropolis of Monte Luna, a hill located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Cagliari in the southern part of Sardinia. The burial ground was first used by Punic people after the sixth century B.C. and continued in use until the second century B.C.

Related: 17 decapitated skeletons found at ancient Roman cemeteryPunic necropolis

The latest study found evidence of blunt-force trauma to the woman’s head, possibly from falling, and a square hole that appears to have been made by an ancient nail. (Image credit: R. Paba)

The Monte Luna necropolis was excavated in the 1970s, and the latest study is based on photographs of the tomb and a new examination of the woman’s skeleton.

Pottery in the tomb suggests she was buried in the last decade of the third century B.C. or the first decades of the second century B.C. — a time when Sardinia, a center of Punic or Phoenician culture for hundreds of years, had come under Roman rule since the end of the First Punic War against Carthage, which took place from 264 B.C. to 241 B.C.

And a new analysis of the young woman’s skeleton — based on her pelvis, teeth and other bones — confirmed an earlier estimate that she was between 18 and 22 years old when she died.

It also showed she had suffered trauma to her skull shortly before or around the time she died. The archaeologists found evidence of two types of trauma: blunt-force trauma, which could have occurred during an accidental fall — possibly during an epileptic seizure — and a sharp-force injury in the form of a square hole in her skull consistent with an impact by an ancient Roman nail; such nails have been found at several archaeological sites in Sardinia.

D’Orlando said the sharp-force injury by a nail may have been inflicted after the woman’s death to prevent the perceived “contagion” of her epilepsy.

The authors suggest the woman’s skull may have been pierced by an ancient nail with a square cross-section, like this one, to prevent the spread of the perceived “contagion” of epilepsy. (Image credit: G. Lai) Medical beliefs in ancient Sardinia

Such treatment may have been based on a Greek belief that certain diseases were caused by “miasma” — bad air — that would have been known throughout the Mediterranean at that time, D’Orlando said.

The same remedy is described in the first century A.D. by the Roman general and natural historian Gaius Plinius Secundus — known as Pliny the Elder — who recommended nailing body parts after a death from epileptic seizures to prevent the spread of the condition, the authors reported.

D’Orlando suggested that this practice of nailing the skull, and perhaps the woman’s unusual facedown burial, could be explained by the introduction of new Roman ideas, which were heavily influenced by ancient Greek ideas, into rural Sardinia.

The tomb was excavated in the 1970s and the latest study is based on photographs and a new analysis of the bones it contained, in particular the young woman’s skull. (Image credit: R. Paba) Related stories—Remains of Roman mercenary and beheaded victim found at ancient site in UK

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But Peter van Dommelen (opens in new tab) , an archaeologist at Brown University who wasn’t involved in the study, said the culture in Sardinia stayed resolutely Punic in spite of Roman rule.

“Culturally speaking, and particularly in rural places like here, the island remains Punic,” he said. “There’s no reason to look at the Roman world for affinities — what people were doing was entirely guided by Punic traditions.”

Van Dommelen has not heard of similar burials in Sardinia, but “it’s interesting,” he said. “It fits with a broader pattern that you can see across the world and across cultures.”

Technology

The question everyone in AI is asking: How long before a GPU depreciates?

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3 hours ago

November 14, 2025

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The question everyone in AI is asking: How long before a GPU depreciates?

Nvidia President and CEO Jensen Huang speaks about NVIDIA Omniverse as he delivers the keynote address during the Nvidia GTC (GPU Technology Conference) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Oct. 28, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

As a handful of the world’s most valuable companies set out to spend $1 trillion over the next five years on data centers for artificial intelligence, one line item is on the minds of executives and investors: depreciation.

In accounting, depreciation is the act of allocating the cost of a hard asset over the course of its expected useful life. It’s an increasingly important concept in the tech industry, as companies predict how long the hundreds of thousands of Nvidia graphics processing units they’re purchasing will remain useful or retain their value.

Infrastructure giants like Google, Oracle and Microsoft have said their servers could be useful for up to six years. But they could also depreciate much sooner. Microsoft said in its latest annual filing that its computer equipment lasts two to six years.

That’s a lot to consider for the investors and lenders financing the giant AI buildouts, because the longer equipment remains valuable, the more years a company can stretch out depreciation and the less it hurts profits.

‘You couldn’t give Hoppers away’

There are a number of ways AI chips could depreciate before six years. They could wear out and break, or they could become obsolete as newer GPUs are released. They could still be useful for running certain workloads, but with much worse economics.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has implied as much. When Nvidia announced a new Blackwell chip earlier this year, he joked that the value of its predecessor, the Hopper, would deteriorate.

“When Blackwell starts shipping in volume, you couldn’t give Hoppers away,” Huang said in March at Nvidia’s AI conference.

“There are circumstances where Hopper is fine,” he continued. “Not many.”

Nvidia now releases new AI chips on an annual basis, versus the two-year cadence it had before. Advanced Micro Devices, its closest GPU competitor, followed suit.

Nvidia reports quarterly results next week.

Amazon, in a February filing, said it decreased the useful life for a subset of its servers from six years to five years because it conducted a study that found “an increased pace of technology development, particularly in the area of artificial intelligence and machine learning.”

Meanwhile, other hyperscalers are extending their GPU useful life estimates for newer server equipment.

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella speaks during the Microsoft Build 2025, conference in Seattle, Washington, on May 19, 2025.

Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images

Although Microsoft plans to build AI infrastructure aggressively, CEO Satya Nadella said this week that his company is trying to space out its AI chip purchases and not overinvest in a single generation of processors. He added that the biggest competitor for any new Nvidia AI chip is its predecessor.

“One of the biggest learnings we had even with Nvidia is that their pace increased in terms of their migrations,” Nadella said. “That was a big factor. I didn’t want to go get stuck with four or five years of depreciation on one generation.”

Nvidia declined to comment.

Dustin Madsen, vice president of the Society of Depreciation Professionals and the founder of Emrydia Consulting, said depreciation is a financial estimate by management and that developments in a fast-moving industry like technology can change initial predictions.

Depreciation estimates, Madsen said, generally take into account assumptions such as technological obsolescence, maintenance, historical lifespans of similar equipment and internal engineering analysis.

“You’re going to have to convince an auditor that what you’re suggesting what its life will be is actually its life,” Madsen said. “They will look at all of those factors, like your engineering data that suggests that the life of these assets is approximately six years, and they will audit that at a very detailed level.”

— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this story.

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Business

Direct cost of Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack which impacted UK economic growth revealed

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3 hours ago

November 14, 2025

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Direct cost of Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack which impacted UK economic growth revealed

The cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which halted production for nearly six weeks at its sites, cost the company roughly £200m, it has been revealed.

Latest accounts released on Friday showed “cyber-related costs” were £196m, which does not include the fall in sales.

Profits took a nose dive, falling from nearly £400m (£398m) a year ago to a loss of £485m in the three months to the end of September.

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Revenues dropped nearly 25% and the effects may continue as the manufacturing halt could slow sales in the final three months of the year, executives said.

The impact of the shutdown also hit factories across the car-making supply chain.

Slowing the UK economy

The production pause was a large contributor to a contraction in UK economic growth in September, official figures showed.

Had car output not fallen 28.6%, the UK economy would have grown by 0.1% during the month. Instead, it fell by 0.1%.

Reacting to JLR’s impact on the GDP contraction, its chief financial officer, Richard Molyneux, said it was “interesting to hear” and it “goes to reinforce” that JLR is really important in the UK economy.

The company, he said, is the “biggest exporter of goods in the entire country” and the effect on GDP “is a reflection of the success JLR has had in past years”.

Recovery

The company said operations were “pretty much back running as normal” and plants were “at or approaching capacity”.

Production of all luxury vehicles resumed.

Investigations are underway into the attack, with law enforcement in “many jurisdictions” involved, the company said.

When asked about the cause of the hack and the hackers, JLR said it was not in a position to answer questions due to the live investigation.

A run of attacks

The manufacturer was just one of a number of major companies to be seriously impacted by cyber criminals in recent months.

High street retailer Marks and Spencer estimated the cost of its IT outage was roughly £136m. The sum only covers the cost of immediate incident systems response and recovery, as well as specialist legal and professional services support.

The Co-Op and Harrods also suffered service disruption caused by cyber attacks.

Four people were arrested by police investigating the incidents.

Technology

StubHub stock plummets 24% after company withholds fourth-quarter guidance

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3 hours ago

November 14, 2025

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StubHub stock plummets 24% after company withholds fourth-quarter guidance

In this photo illustration, the StubHub logo and webpage are displayed on a cell phone and computer monitor on April 17, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

StubHub‘s stock plummeted 24% on Friday after the company withheld financial guidance for the current quarter, citing a “long-term” focus.

StubHub CEO Eric Baker told investors on Thursday’s conference call that the timing of when tickets go on sale can shift from quarter to quarter, making it hard to predict consumer demand.

Baker reiterated that demand for live events is “phenomenal,” and added that the company plans to offer an outlook for 2026 when it reports fourth-quarter results.

“This year, we are observing some shifts in the timing of these on-sales,” CFO Connie James told investors on the call. “Several large tours that would typically go on sale in the fourth quarter occurred earlier in late September. It remains to be seen how this concert on-sale timing dynamic plays out in November and December.”

Wedbush analysts said in an investor note on Friday that they were “surprised” by StubHub executives’ decision not to offer any guidance.

“The lack of forward guidance will pressure shares, with investor concern building around lack of visibility over the near-term,” the analysts wrote. They have an outperform rating on StubHub stock.

The lack of guidance overshadowed the company’s stronger-than-expected results in its first earnings report as a public company. Third-quarter revenue grew 8% year over year to $468.1 million, topping the average analyst estimate of $452 million, according to LSEG.

Gross merchandise sales, which represent the total dollar value paid by ticket buyers, jumped 11% year over year to $2.43 billion. That surpassed Wall Street’s expected $2.36 billion, according to FactSet.

The ticket vendor posted a net loss of $1.33 billion, or a loss of $4.27 per share, due to one-time stock-based compensation charges related to its initial public offering in September.