Lewis Powell's Family

[Houmes]

(01-13-2013 07:50 PM)BettyO Wrote:  I was told by the anthropologist years ago when I asked about that (as well as the little hole in the top of his head over his left eye) this was from the sinus infections, which made the bone brittle and could over time cause the bone to break away. The hole in the top of his head was from "coffin rot" - i.e. deterioration

The hole at the top of Powell's skull is unlikely to be from a sinus infection, as the frontal sinuses are located below that area, just above each orbit toward the middle of the face. When you get a bad sinus headache, it's from an infection in one or both of these sinuses. If the hole had been caused by a sinus infection (and it would have required a very serious infection, meaning causing a brain infection or death), it would have not allowed him to live long enough to be hanged.

The two small ovoid holes below each eye are the infraorbital foramina (plural of foramen) where a nerve and artery exit to supply that area of the face. On the lower rim of skull's left orbit there is a larger, circular defect, which includes both the foramen and the lower rim of the orbit (eye socket). This is probably due to bone chipped off at some unknown time from the fracture line.