A urinary stone from the early medieval site of Riner, Catalonia

This paper presents the differential diagnosis of a calcified mass found in the pelvic cavity of an adult male dating to the 10th century AD.

Skeletal remains of an adult male exhumed from the cemetery associated with the early medieval church of Riner (Solsonès, Catalonia).

The structure and composition of the mass were examined by x-ray imaging, microscopic stereoscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis.

The examination reveals a light brown kidney-shaped calcification with well-defined margins, irregular hypodense zones, and several thin concentric layers. The obtained spectra showed a mixture of carbonate apatite (with a high level of carbonation) and calcite in all the sections studied.

The calcification most likely corresponds to a urinary calculus of infectious origin.

Given the insights that urinary calculi can provide towards understanding consequences of infection and environmental conditions, this case will be of interest to other researchers wishing to initiate comparative analyses.

The discussion of the etiology of the stone is limited by the lack of preservation of certain elements such as struvite.