Medieval surgery stuns the experts

A man who had suffered a near fatal blow to the head was operated on to remove bone fragments and relieve pressure on his brain.

Days after the complex cranial surgery, the 40-year- old patient recovered fully and returned to work.

A routine if tricky operation these days, but what has surprised experts is that it was performed about 1,000 years ago on a peasant in North Yorkshire.

A team from English Heritage made the discovery when analysing the skull of a man who lived in the village of Wharram Percy between 960 and 1100 AD.

It could mean medical skills were far more advanced than was previously thought.

Simon Mays of English Heritage is puzzled as to how a peasant had been able to afford such surgery. He said: "This doesn't square with our knowledge of the period."