5,300-year-old kidney stone the size of a grape found in Bronze Age man's burial near Black Sea

A Bronze Age man buried near the Black Sea millennia ago may have died from complications of a urinary tract infection (UTI) due to a kidney or bladder stone, according to a new study. The man, who lived in his 40s around 5,300 years ago, had a chronic urogenital infection that led to the formation of a grape-sized stone in his urinary system.

The researchers found the stone-like object during laboratory analysis after excavating the man's burial in an Early Bronze Age kurgan cemetery. The stone, primarily composed of calcium and phosphorus, contained a rare mineral called whitlockite, which is often associated with bacterial infections. This suggests that the man suffered from chronic or recurrent UTIs that caused the stone and likely led to his discomfort and possibly his death.