Found at the castle of Zorita de los Canes in the Guadalajara province, this knight from the Order of Calatrava is believed to have died defending this hilltop fortress sometime between the 13th and 15th centuries.
C. Rissech et al., Heritage (2025)The unusually elongated skull of the warrior monk found at the castle of Zorita de los Canes.
During excavations at the medieval fortress of Zorita de los Canes in Spain’s Guadalajara province, archaeologists came across the body of a man who seemingly died violently in battle. Though he was buried in a cemetery with other men who died in a similar fashion, this man stood out. Upon further examination, archaeologists realized that he had an extreme skull deformity.
His skull was severely elongated, hinting that he might have had Crouzon syndrome. Though treatable today, most medieval infants born with such a condition died in childhood. This man, however, lived into his mid-40s — and died only when he was brought down during a bloody clash sometime between the 13th and 15th centuries.
The Warrior Monk Found At Zorita de los Canes With An Extreme Skull Deformity
C. Rissech et al., Heritage (2025)Researchers noted asymmetry in the man’s skull, suggesting that he likely had Crouzon syndrome.
According to a new study published in Heritage, the remains of the man were found during excavations at a cemetery, which was used for centuries during the medieval period, at Spain’s Zorita de los Canes fortress.
Many of the men in the cemetery appeared to have died violent deaths, and researchers suspect that they were warrior monks who belonged to the military-religious Order of Calatrava. But this man was unlike the others.
Upon examining his remains, researchers found that he was between the ages of 45 and 49 when he died, and that his cranium was nine inches long yet less than five inches wide. This meant that his skull was “ultradolichocephalic,” or unusually long and narrow, which is consistent with Crouzon syndrome.
This genetic disorder, which can be treated by surgery today, had no such cure in medieval Europe. Most children with the condition died, but this man grew into adulthood.
Though the condition of his teeth indicates a long-term asymmetry in his jaw, the state of the man’s bones nevertheless suggested that he otherwise lived an active life. His shoulder bones reveal that he often carried bags and his legs indicate that he was a horseback rider.
Meanwhile, his remains also illustrated the story of his violent death. Researchers found that the man died of two stab wounds, “one to the left temple and the other to the external occipital protuberance [the back of the skull].” He also suffered a blunt wound to his left tibia.
C. Rissech et al., Heritage (2025)One of the fatal wounds to the warrior monk’s skull, consistent with battlefield injuries sustained by the men buried around him.
But who was this man? His exact identity is unknown, but he was buried in a cemetery with other men who’d died similarly violent deaths, a medieval burial site “which primarily served as a burial site for members of the Order of Calatrava.”
The Order of Calatrava At Spain’s Zorita de los Canes Fortress
As the researchers report in their study, the man with the elongated skull was buried with others who’d seemingly died in brutal fashion. The warriors “exhibited multiple stab wounds on various parts of the body — including the cranium, ilium, ribs, and femur — indicating episodes of violence, probably battle wounds,” the researchers wrote.
They added: “These findings are consistent with the interpretation that these individuals were warriors affiliated with the Order of Calatrava.”
This religious military order was formed in 1158 to replace the Knights Templar and to respond to Muslim attacks in Spain. Though it had humble origins, the Order of Calatrava ultimately began to draw members from “the lower nobility or urban oligarchies” who saw their membership as “both a religious journey toward salvation and a means of economic gain and social advancement.”
One of their strategic fortifications was Zorita de los Canes, where many of these warrior monks died. But the man with the elongated skull isn’t the first unusual burial that researchers found there. Previously, archaeologists also found a woman buried at the site whose injuries suggested that she died “in a manner very similar to that of male knights.”
AdriPozuelo/Wikimedia CommonsThe ruins of Spain’s Zorita de los Canes fortress.
Ultimately, though much is known about the the social origins and composition of the Order of Calatrava, only a handful of studies have actually examined the skeletal remains of its members. So far, from the woman warrior to the man with the elongated skull, these studies have revealed plenty of intriguing surprises about this medieval order of religious warriors.
After reading about this warrior monk with an elongated skull, go inside the history of the Reconquista, the centuries-long battle between European and Muslim forces for control of the Iberian peninsula. Then, discover the story of the search for the Holy Grail.
