There’s little worse than being struck by tummy trouble when you’re trying to do your job – and even Roman soldiers could attest to that, a new study shows.
Scientists at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have found evidence that defenders of the Roman Empire at Hadrian’s Wall nearly 2,000 years ago suffered from diarrhoea.
Analysis of drain samples at Vindolanda, the Roman fort close to Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, reveal traces of ancient intestinal parasites.
Study author Dr Marissa Ledger, anthropologist and Cambridge PhD graduate, said chronic infections weakened Roman soldiers, making them not fully fit for duty.
However, at this important stone fortification, soldiers likely had little choice but to carry on with the job while being seriously under the weather.
‘The three types of parasites we found could have led to malnutrition and cause diarrhoea in some of the Roman soldiers,’ Dr Ledger said.
‘While the Romans were aware of intestinal worms, there was little their doctors could do to clear infection by these parasites or help those experiencing diarrhoea, meaning symptoms could persist and worsen.
‘These chronic infections likely weakened soldiers, reducing fitness for duty.’
A new analysis of sewer drains from the Roman fort of Vindolanda, close to Hadrian’s Wall, has shown that the occupants were infected by three types of intestinal parasite. Pictured, third century baths and latrine block at Vindolanda, the Roman fort close to Hadrian’s Wall
Although first built by the Roman army before Hadrian’s Wall, Vindolanda (located between Carlisle and Corbridge in Northumberland) became the wall’s construction and garrison base. Pictured, aerial view of the latrine drain (top) and photos of the latrine drain during excavation (bottom)
Hadrian’s Wall was built by the Romans in the early 2nd century AD to defend their province of ‘Britannia’ from attack by tribes from the north.
Excavations at Vindolanda – located between Carlisle and Corbridge in Northumberland – have already provided important evidence for life in Roman Britain, such as wooden tablets written with ink detailing activities like the acquisition of materials, military communications, and personal communications.
To learn more about health and hygiene, 50 sediment samples were collected from the length of a drain connected to a latrine at the bath complex of Vindolanda.
Measuring around 30 feet (nine metres), the drain historically carried waste from the communal latrine down to a stream north of the site.
Samples were split between labs at Cambridge and Oxford, where researchers conducted microscope analysis to hunt for the ancient remains of helminth eggs.
Helminths, also known as parasitic worms, are transmitted in human faeces and can cause nausea, cramping and diarrhoea.
Around 28 per cent of the samples contained either eggs from whipworms and roundworms – both of which cause abdominal pain and diarrhea.
One sample contained remnants of both whipworms and roundworms, so researchers analysed it using a bio-molecular technique called ‘ELISA’.
Pictured, a roundworm egg from the analysis of sediment from the sewer drain leading from the latrine block at Vindolanda
These three parasites are all spread by ineffective sanitation, with contamination of food, drink or hands by human faeces. Pictured, whipworm egg
This yielded traces of Giardia duodenalis, a pear-shaped parasitic microorganism causing a diarrheal condition known as giardiasis.
This is the first evidence for Giardia duodenalis in Roman Britain – and it could have taken out large numbers of soldiers at Hadrian’s Wall.
‘Some soldiers could have become severely ill from dehydration during summer outbreaks of Giardia, which are often linked to contaminated water and can infection dozens of people at a time,’ said co-author Dr Piers Mitchell at Cambridge.
‘Untreated giardiasis can drag on for weeks, causing dramatic fatigue and weight loss.’
The team also found roundworm and whipworm in a sample from a ditch that was part of a an earlier fort constructed around AD 85 and abandoned by AD 91 or 92.
‘Artefacts from these deposits included finely preserved leather shoes, leather bags and tent panels, some woven textiles, and a matt of yellow hair on the jawbone from a small dog,’ the team say in their paper published in the journal Parasitology.
All three parasites found at Vindolanda are spread by ineffective sanitation, with contamination of food, drink or hands by human faeces.
Faecal-oral parasites have already been found at Roman military sites elsewhere, such as Carnuntum in Austria, Valkenburg on Rhine in the Netherlands and Bearsden in Scotland.
Hadrian’s Wall was built by the Romans in the early 2nd century AD to defend their province of ‘Britannia’ from attack by tribes from the north and remained in use until the end of the 4th century
Despite the findings, the Romans did have remarkably sophisticated sanitation systems, at least for the time.
Among their many inventions, they pioneered communal toilets with plumbing, running water and sewers – but seemed to lack an effective hand sanitizer.
Gruesomely, they used a communal ‘tersorium’ – essentially a sponge on a stick – to wipe their bottoms, which likely contributed to the spread of diseases.
It seems likely that soldiers unintentionally infected each other with these parasites, the researchers say.
Their results provide ‘further evidence for the types of gastrointestinal diseases that Roman military units’ which are ‘remarkably similar to those found in other regions of the Empire’.
The team conclude: ‘The sole presence of parasites related to sanitation conditions exemplifies the risk for infections transmitted by the faecal-oral route in Roman military settlements.’
WHAT IS VINDOLANDA AND WHAT WAS ITS ROLE IN ROMAN BRITAIN?
Vindolanda is a Roman fort south of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England.
Soldiers stationed there guarded the Roman road from the River Tyne to Solway Firth.
Wooden tablets were discovered there which are considered the most important examples of military and private correspondence found anywhere in the Roman Empire.
The garrison was home to auxiliary infantry and cavalry units – not parts of Roman legions.
Vindolanda (pictured) is a Roman fort south of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England
Roman boots, shoes, armours, jewellery, coins and tablets have all been found there.
In 2006, a richly-decorated silver brooch featuring the figure of Mars was found.
It belonged to Quintus Sollonius, a Gaul, whose name was inscribed on the brooch.
The Vindolanda Roman fort on Hadrians Wall, Northumberland. Soldiers stationed there guarded the Roman road from the River Tyne to Solway Firth
