Paleoparasitology at "Place d'Armes", Namur, Belgium: a biostatistics analysis of trichurid eggs between the Old and New World

Abstract

Paleoparasitological findings about human occupation and their domestic animals, from Gallo-Roman period up to recent times, were described at the archaeological site of "Place d'Armes", Namur, Belgium, by preventive archaeological excavations. Organic sediment samples from cesspools, latrines and structures-like were analyzed and revealed intestinal parasite eggs (helminthes) in all of the different archaeological contexts. The parasitic association Ascaris sp. and Trichuris sp. was found although it is not easy to determinate the specific parasite species. Trichurids were described in both New and Old Worlds since the prehistorical time. To elucidate the zoological origin of the organic remains, the parasites and the prior function of the sanitary structures Trichuris eggs were statistically analyzed for morphometric parameters, and suggest that it could be an important tool to help the whole paleoparasitological diagnosis.

A comparative study of parasites in three latrines from Medieval and Renaissance Brussels, Belgium (14th–17th centuries)

“…While some promising parasite research has been undertaken at archaeological sites in Belgium before, these have typically focussed on individual locations. Some analyse sediment from cesspits that contain the comingled feces of different people, while others study coprolites, which are the preserved remains of a defecation event from a single person (Gonçalves et al ., 2004; Rocha et al ., 2006; Rocha and Serra-Freire, 2009; Appelt et al ., 2014), or the intestinal content residues associated with burials (Deforce et al ., 2015; Rácz et al ., 2015). While a number focussed their attention on the parasite remains, others primarily focussed on pollen and other plant remains, noting the parasites eggs as an incidental finding (Troubleyn et al ., 2009; Deforce, 2010).…”