Ancient Romans in Britain were riddled with intestinal parasites that spread through human feces.
A new analysis of the sewer system at Vindolanda, a Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall, found that residents in ancient times were infected with at least three gut parasites—roundworm, whipworm and Giardia duodenalis.
Roundworms and whipworms both live in the intestine and cause various ailments, including abdominal pain, nausea, fever and diarrhea. Roundworms can grow as long as 30 centimeters, while whipworms tend to be smaller. People can get infected by ingesting food or drink contaminated with human feces holding the eggs of these worms. Giardia duodenalis, meanwhile, is not a worm but a tiny organism that lives primarily inside the small intestine. It exists in two forms—cysts and trophozoites—and causes giardiasis, an illness that causes severe diarrhea and makes it harder for the body to absorb vital nutrients. It is also spread through human waste.
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For the analysis, published in the journal Parasitology, researchers looked at 50 sediment samples taken from the drain of a third-century latrine at the fort. About 28 percent of the samples contained whipworm or roundworm eggs, whereas others had traces of Giardia duodenalis. A sample from an older structure dating to the first century also contained the worms.
What all this suggests is that ancient Romans were probably not as fastidious about washing their hands or their food as we are today. Fecal matter may also have contaminated the drinking water supply at Vindolanda fort, sickening the residents. And once the Romans were infected, there was little that could be done, said study co-author Marissa Ledger, a medical microbiology resident at McMaster University in Ontario, in a statement.
“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,” Ledger said.
The conditions almost certainly affected the Romans’ ability to protect Hadrian’s Wall, a vital defense structure built by the Romans in C.E. 122 to keep out the Picts and other tribes who lived to the north. Disease outbreaks would have been common, with dozens sickened at a time.
Ultimately the findings suggest life for a Roman soldier at Hadrian’s Wall was pretty miserable, the researchers said. “Excavations at Vindolanda continue to find new evidence that helps us to understand the incredible hardships faced by those posted to this northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire nearly 2,000 years ago,” said Andrew Birley, a co-author of the study and CEO of the Vindolanda Charitable Trust.