Remains of Novae.Credit: Kleo73 / Wikimedia Commons
Posted on 05/11/2026 7:49:37 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Researchers led by Elena Klenina and Andrzej B. Biernacki of Adam Mickiewicz University and their colleagues identified intestinal parasites in residues taken from four chamber pots recovered from two archaeological sites in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior, which is located in what is now Bulgaria, according to a La Brújula Verde report. Three of the pots in the study were found in a villa located near the Legio I Italica army camp, where high-ranking officials likely stayed when they visited the region. Cryptosporidium, a protozoan that can cause severe diarrhea, was one of the parasites detected in the second-century A.D. pots from the villa. These vessels also contained evidence of the intestinal tapeworm Taenia, and the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica, which causes dysentery. Inhabitants of the villa may have been infected with parasites originating in contaminated water from a reservoir on the Danube River. Sewer channels from the area are known to have discharged waste water into the Danube, and so the system may have been flooded and compromised during heavy rains. Consumption of undercooked pork or beef, and the use of human waste as fertilizer in fields around the army camp, may have also spread parasites, the researchers explained. The fourth pot, dated to the fourth century A.D., was uncovered in a pottery workshop at Marcianopolis. This vessel was likely used by the owner of the workshop and a group of potters. No traces of parasites were found in this pot, perhaps due to a better-quality water supply, or perhaps the consumption of poultry, which does not host the larval stages of worms that infect humans. Read the original scholarly article about this research in npj Heritage Science. For more about the Roman army in Bulgaria, go to "A Dutiful Roman Soldier."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
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Remains of Novae.Credit: Kleo73 / Wikimedia Commons
Who knew they had Democrats way back then. Science is amazing.
Poop ping.
Sunken C. You belong to the High Order of Dedicated Historians.
If something is related to anthropology, they do not flinch, nor will they hesitate to look closely. It matters not what the topic may be. You have my respect.
There are times when I can stay on course in a similar way, but at a certain point, I’m looking for the closest
Exit Ramp.
I think this Roman parasite problem probably got wiped out.
The Romans became infected with parasites by drinking contaminated water or eating raw meat.Credit: Guillermo Carvajal / labrujulaverde.com
Literally!
Because someone had to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Step one, get your poop in a group...
I have a book, uh, somewhere, about Coprology. I didn’t meet the author, but the copies at that bookstore had been autographed when the author was doing a book-signing tour.
Doesn’t look that much like ink...
Damn! Beat me to it!
Researchers led by Elena Klenina and Andrzej B. Biernacki of Adam Mickiewicz University and their colleagues
It must suck to be crappy researchers...
A reliable source once told me to avoid the Bulgarian Ćevapi and maybe this is why.
You beat me to it.
The closest I came to “being involved” in such, was visiting Pompei while stationed in Italy, and climbing the pyramid in Chichen Itza when on a vacation to Mexico. But you do help keep history alive and well here.
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