The medieval crusaders may be long gone , but some of them left behind something a bit personal . In a ruined rook in Cyprus , researchers discovered a latrine that still contained the fecal parasites of the European invaders .
After King Richard I of England invaded Cyprus in 1191 , he ordered the castle Saranda Kolones built on the island ’s Western corner . The castle was destroy 30 years later on in an Earthquake , and by then King Richard had sold ascendence of the island to Guy de Lusignan , magnate of the reformer province of Jerusalem . Saranda Kolones was never reconstruct , intend that the only people who pooped there were Richard ’s reformer .
That ’s very exciting for researchers who learn fecal matter , or rather , the parasites that are hidden within . University of Cambridge archeology and anthropology researchers Evilena Anastasiou and Piers D. Mitchell decided to rehydrate the dried fecal matter found in the rook ’s latrine and see what sorting of parasites afflict the resident physician of Saranda Kolones during that narrow 30 yr window .
moderate for the possibleness of late contamination , the researchers discovered that these crusaders ’ feces moderate bollock of roundworms ( Ascaris lumbricoides ) and whipworms ( Trichuris trichiura ) , two parasite that are transmitted faecal - by word of mouth . The researchers note that 15 - 20 pct of crusaders in farsighted junket give out of malnutrition or infectious disease , and these parasite would have contributed to the former . During farseeing sieges and period of dearth , the last thing you ’d want is a sponge competing for your nutrients .
Saranda Kolones is n’t the only medieval castle to have its latrines swabbed ; Anastasiou and Mitchell mention comparing their finding to those from Latrines in the mainland eastern Mediterranean regions to get a more stark picture of the wellness environment of castles during the Crusades .
The paper come out in the June edition of theInternational Journal of Paleopathology .
Photo credit : Evgeniapp / Shutterstock .
This Castle ’s Toilet Still Holds Parasites From Crusaders ’ Feces[Surprising Science viaNeatorama ]
anthropologyArchaeologycastlemedievalScience
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