A HOLE IN THE HEAD
Posted: 25 Apr 2026, 01:01
A HOLE IN THE HEAD
29 August 2002
Did you know that there is an organisation called the International Trepanation Advocacy Group (ITAG)? I had vague memory about them but was triggered to find out more by the recent news that a skull dating back to 1750BC had been found in the Thames mud which had a hole in it more than one inch in diameter. This hole hadn’t been caused by injury, a Neolithic surgeon had carefully cut the scalp with a sharp piece of flint, peeled it back and using the same flint had carefully scraped away the bone until there was a large hole in the skull. The scalp was then replaced and, from the evidence of regenerated bone around the hole, we know that the patient lived for several years afterwards. We don’t know why anyone submitted to this terribly dangerous and painful procedure, remember that apart from herbs and alcohol there was no anaesthetic then. We suspect that it was either a religious ritual or as a cure for persistent headaches or epileptic fits. This isn’t the oldest known example, it was an ancient technique even then. I like examples of Neolithic skills like this because they shed a little more light on the lives of our ancestors. They were pretty smart, capable of moving 85 ton stones by sea and land from South Wales to Stonehenge and evidently experts at brain surgery as well. What’s the connection with ITAG? This organisation is alive and well today and advocates voluntary trepanation either by a doctor or in some extreme cases by a trusted friend. The idea is to drill a hole in the head deep enough to remove the bone but without penetrating the membrane. This allows the brain to pulsate as the heart beats, thus reducing pressure in the head and, according to ITAG, great benefits can accrue. My only comment is 'include me out!'
All this got me to thinking about surgery in the home. The last time I came across any was when Dr Dick did a small procedure on my hand one night at Sough after I had injured myself. This was only a minor matter but I have talked to people in Barlick who could remember tonsillectomies on the kitchen table. Shortly after I was born in 1936 they took me back into hospital and removed my tonsils, it was almost done as a matter of course in those days. John Wilfred Pickard once told me that he used to cut the gums of small children when they were in great pain when teething. Nicking the skin over the tooth relieved the pressure and was instant relief, he said he did all to his own children.
Childbirth in the home used to be common. After my wife Vera had her first child in Cawder Ghyll she said she’d rather have the others at home so my two youngest daughters, Susan and Janet were both born at Hey Farm. I spoke to one of our local midwives and asked her how common a home delivery was these days, she told me that only about one baby in a hundred was born at home even though the profession regards this as a perfectly safe procedure if there is no reason to suspect that there will be complications. This being the case I asked why she thought so few people opted for this alternative. Evidently, during the 1970s there were reports which suggested that hospital delivery was safer and this means that almost all the young mothers today were themselves born in hospitals and so they consider this to be the norm. I got the impression that the midwives quite enjoy home confinements with healthy mothers. Obviously I have no experience of childbirth beyond attending with the hot water! However, I wonder how the chances of infection in the home compare with those in hospitals?
Looking at minor ailments, if the packed shelves in chemists and supermarkets are any evidence, we are all self-medicating to some degree. The major change since the 1930’s is that people almost always use proprietary medicines. We are constantly urged by the authorities to use our pharmacist as a first line of defence and of course they are happy to give advice which sells their goods. I’m sure that this is could be a good thing. Sixty years ago there were very few pre-packed medicines. Your mother was far more likely to dose you with common salt, Epsom Salts, bi-carbonate of soda, sal volatile, flowers of sulphur or some herbal remedy ‘to open your bowels’! Goose grease or bacon fat was rubbed on chests and a great favourite was a sweaty sock round the neck overnight as a cure for a sore throat. If you had whooping cough your mother would take you to the gasworks and a helpful employee would take you up to the top of the resorts to be exposed to a blast of fumes from the stewing coal.
The bottom line was that the doctor had to be paid so the old folk remedies had to be employed and were sometimes very successful. I suppose I regret our increased reliance on the professionals but on the whole there’s little doubt that we are better served nowadays. The trick seems to be to be able to know at what stage the home remedy fails and the doctor becomes essential. One thing I am certain of, whilst I am quite happy to gargle with salt or treat minor wounds, there’s no way I’m going to fire up a one inch drill and bore a hole in my skull to improve my brain power. Our Stone Age ancestors had no alternative, we have Park Road and the Medical Centre. Support your local doctors!
29 August 2002
29 August 2002
Did you know that there is an organisation called the International Trepanation Advocacy Group (ITAG)? I had vague memory about them but was triggered to find out more by the recent news that a skull dating back to 1750BC had been found in the Thames mud which had a hole in it more than one inch in diameter. This hole hadn’t been caused by injury, a Neolithic surgeon had carefully cut the scalp with a sharp piece of flint, peeled it back and using the same flint had carefully scraped away the bone until there was a large hole in the skull. The scalp was then replaced and, from the evidence of regenerated bone around the hole, we know that the patient lived for several years afterwards. We don’t know why anyone submitted to this terribly dangerous and painful procedure, remember that apart from herbs and alcohol there was no anaesthetic then. We suspect that it was either a religious ritual or as a cure for persistent headaches or epileptic fits. This isn’t the oldest known example, it was an ancient technique even then. I like examples of Neolithic skills like this because they shed a little more light on the lives of our ancestors. They were pretty smart, capable of moving 85 ton stones by sea and land from South Wales to Stonehenge and evidently experts at brain surgery as well. What’s the connection with ITAG? This organisation is alive and well today and advocates voluntary trepanation either by a doctor or in some extreme cases by a trusted friend. The idea is to drill a hole in the head deep enough to remove the bone but without penetrating the membrane. This allows the brain to pulsate as the heart beats, thus reducing pressure in the head and, according to ITAG, great benefits can accrue. My only comment is 'include me out!'
All this got me to thinking about surgery in the home. The last time I came across any was when Dr Dick did a small procedure on my hand one night at Sough after I had injured myself. This was only a minor matter but I have talked to people in Barlick who could remember tonsillectomies on the kitchen table. Shortly after I was born in 1936 they took me back into hospital and removed my tonsils, it was almost done as a matter of course in those days. John Wilfred Pickard once told me that he used to cut the gums of small children when they were in great pain when teething. Nicking the skin over the tooth relieved the pressure and was instant relief, he said he did all to his own children.
Childbirth in the home used to be common. After my wife Vera had her first child in Cawder Ghyll she said she’d rather have the others at home so my two youngest daughters, Susan and Janet were both born at Hey Farm. I spoke to one of our local midwives and asked her how common a home delivery was these days, she told me that only about one baby in a hundred was born at home even though the profession regards this as a perfectly safe procedure if there is no reason to suspect that there will be complications. This being the case I asked why she thought so few people opted for this alternative. Evidently, during the 1970s there were reports which suggested that hospital delivery was safer and this means that almost all the young mothers today were themselves born in hospitals and so they consider this to be the norm. I got the impression that the midwives quite enjoy home confinements with healthy mothers. Obviously I have no experience of childbirth beyond attending with the hot water! However, I wonder how the chances of infection in the home compare with those in hospitals?
Looking at minor ailments, if the packed shelves in chemists and supermarkets are any evidence, we are all self-medicating to some degree. The major change since the 1930’s is that people almost always use proprietary medicines. We are constantly urged by the authorities to use our pharmacist as a first line of defence and of course they are happy to give advice which sells their goods. I’m sure that this is could be a good thing. Sixty years ago there were very few pre-packed medicines. Your mother was far more likely to dose you with common salt, Epsom Salts, bi-carbonate of soda, sal volatile, flowers of sulphur or some herbal remedy ‘to open your bowels’! Goose grease or bacon fat was rubbed on chests and a great favourite was a sweaty sock round the neck overnight as a cure for a sore throat. If you had whooping cough your mother would take you to the gasworks and a helpful employee would take you up to the top of the resorts to be exposed to a blast of fumes from the stewing coal.
The bottom line was that the doctor had to be paid so the old folk remedies had to be employed and were sometimes very successful. I suppose I regret our increased reliance on the professionals but on the whole there’s little doubt that we are better served nowadays. The trick seems to be to be able to know at what stage the home remedy fails and the doctor becomes essential. One thing I am certain of, whilst I am quite happy to gargle with salt or treat minor wounds, there’s no way I’m going to fire up a one inch drill and bore a hole in my skull to improve my brain power. Our Stone Age ancestors had no alternative, we have Park Road and the Medical Centre. Support your local doctors!
29 August 2002