Ancient Roman Giant Found—Oldest Complete Skeleton With Gigantism

It would seem that GIANTS aren't as far fetched as some (including myself) would think.

Six ft, six inches tall may not be anything spectacular today, but, this fellow in the linked article would have absolutely towered over his contemporaries that averaged in at 5ft 5 inches at the time.

Ancient Roman Giant Found

Article first says 6ft 6inches, then it goes on to say 6ft, 8 inches. hmm.

It's no tall tale—the first complete ancient skeleton of a person with gigantism has been discovered near Rome, a new study says.

At 6 feet, 8 inches (202 centimeters) tall, the man would have been a giant in third-century A.D. Rome, where men averaged about 5 and a half feet (167 centimeters) tall. By contrast, today's tallest man measures 8 feet, 3 inches (251 centimeters).

Finding such skeletons is rare, because gigantism itself is extremely rare, today affecting about three people in a million worldwide. The condition begins in childhood, when a malfunctioning pituitary gland causes abnormally growth.

Two partial skeletons, one from Poland and another from Egypt, have previously been identified as "probable" cases of gigantism, but the Roman specimen is the first clear case from the ancient past, study leader Simona Minozzi, a paleopathologist at Italy's University of Pisa, said by email.

Above, the image compares the giant's Tibia, or shin bone along side a 'normal' sized human.

Interesting no?

I wonder what this fellow's life was like back then.

I wonder what this fellow's life was like back then.

However he wanted it to be is my guess... Who would argue?

Nice find.

reply to post by Druscilla


Great find Druscilla!
My father, and a member on here- davethebear, have acromegaly, which is a form of gigantism. I am fascinated every time I read or find an article regarding giants. I believe the last oldest skeleton found with gigantism was from Scotland, and now this one from Rome. It's fascinating. I believe there are more we just have not found yet, or they were as rare then as they are now.
Thank you for sharing this find, Star & Flag!!

Do you think that the biblical Goliath was a made up story?

This guy is short compared to some pro basketballers.

Wonder how tall Goliath actually was....

FYI:

Roman Emperor Maximus Thrace was 8´-6" Tall

Not bad when one considers the average Roman male was around 5' 9"

Originally posted by SLAYER69
FYI:

Roman Emperor Maximus Thrace was 8´-6" Tall

Not bad when one considers the average Roman male was around 5' 9"

:::throws fist in air:::
Aggg why you post link there ahhhh!!!!



Edit ::::

oh nice edit make me look insane

next thing you know they are gonna say fireballs shoot out his

nvm the subtitles in my head say stop

reply to post by EvilBat




I hear ya.
I had three tabs open and copied the wrong initially

Wow.. that is large.. nice find

a couple of early Saxon burials around here where well over 6ft (6'2"- 6'4") late 3rd early 4th century)) and while I can imagine they where giants in their communities, imagining some one 6' 8" is huuge..

I can't help but imagine someone that size wielding a local sword which is almost 6ft tall, now that is a scary thought (the sword is Morglay which resides in the Armoury at Arundel)

"I wonder what this fellow's life was like back then"

Well I am sure he got all the chicks. And could see any woman's true hair color long before she knew it was time to do her roots.

Everything I've read concerning gigantism talls me it can't be diagnosed from ancient bones. And it is often missed with living people until it becomes obvious. So they don't actually KNOW this person had gigantism. It might be a good guess, but they don't know it.

It's always easier to explain the abnormal in terms of what we can label it, rather than what we don't want to confront. S&F OP.

reply to post by magma


Goliath was six cubits and a span tall. It works out to 3.2 metres, or 9 feet, 6 inches.

Got 'em all beat.

Then again, being tall isn't a good thing when you can be taken out with a rock in your forehead.

My fourth or fifth cousin on my mothers side was Big Louis Moilanen. My sister had very big bones and joints and also RA. She only lived til her early forties with these problems The gene needs certain conditions and a good copy to work right. Otherwise it is a nightmare. I grew a foot in one summer when I was fifteen. It cost a lot of money to keep me in clothes that year. I quit growing at six one thank god. I have autoimmune issues as does my brother and one of my daughters. Where the Gene originallycame from I don't know, why it doesn't work right anymore is also a mystery.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Thracian... I thought the same thing too. No mention of hair color. I'll bet it was red.

reply to post by Q33323


10 Bucks says you're right........

I thought most of the giants relocated to the area the Celts where in. Well, there and North America.

It's probably why we have redheads in our gene pool.

reply to post by magma


I remember reading somewhere that a biblical scholar estimated once that Goliath was something around seven to seven foot two... Not truly giant in our age, but in biblical times? Good grief, he'd be, well, worth a story or two...

I've never been able to find that article anywhere...

Originally posted by SLAYER69
reply to post by Q33323

 

10 Bucks says you're right........

I'll bet you 20 he's not - lets hope they do a DNA test, it didn't say but if they recovered his skull and teeth - based on the age of the bones such a test migh prove interesting.

Speaking of teeth they didn't mention the standard double roll......

I know there have always been folks throughout history who have been taller than average. Even King Henry 8th was considered to be very tall, at 6'3". I too have a couple of a bit more distant relatives on my mother's side who grew to be well over 7 feet in height. I remember mom showing me the pics of her standing with them both. I gather the genes must be alive and well somewhere.
Interesting to think about=thanks OP!

Originally posted by magma

Wonder how tall Goliath actually was....

from wiki
"Goliath's stature grew at the hand of narrators or scribes: the oldest manuscripts — the Dead Sea Scrolls text of Samuel, the first-century historian Josephus, and the fourth century Septuagint manuscripts — all give his height as "four cubits and a span" (6 feet 9 inches or 206 cm); later manuscripts increase this to "six cubits and a span" (9 feet 9 inches or 2.97 m)."
en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by Druscilla
It would seem that GIANTS aren't as far fetched as some (including myself) would think.

Six ft, six inches tall may not be anything spectacular today, but, this fellow in the linked article would have absolutely towered over his contemporaries that averaged in at 5ft 5 inches at the time.

well we have giants, the tallest man ever was 8 foot 11, robert wadlow
what is far fetched is the idea that a population of giants existed, seeing as giantism is rare and hard to survive.
unless someone wants to insert supernatural things into the answer, such as angels mating with women, and having offspring like og and later goliath, there is no way someone over 9 feet would be able to walk. wadlow could barely walk when he was 8' 11", his bones couldn't bear the weight.

the human body has an upper limit on how tall someone can be without suffering, with the added nutrition of modern society, it's closer to 7 foot 5 before you start to have problems.

apparently the threshold was lower than 6 foot 8 inches, since this person died when he was a teen to young adult. they estimate between 16-20.