In Jerusalem toilets found the oldest cases of infection with intestinal Giardia (3 photos)

Traces of parasites found in sediments over 2600 years old





A stone slab with a hole found in the area of Armon Hanatziv

A group of scientists from the UK, Israel and the USA studied sediment samples collected in Jerusalem during excavations of two ancient cesspools. Both toilets used over 2600 years ago, they found intestinal Giardia is a parasitic protozoan that causes giardiasis. How reported in an article published in the journal Parasitology, these are the earliest cases of intestinal giardia infection ever found in the world.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the histological method allowed scientists discover trematode eggs in the kidneys of an ancient Egyptian mummy (Schistosoma haematobium), which was the starting point for paleoparasitology as a scientific direction. source of information for researchers are usually coprolites or paleofeces, samples deposits extracted from burials (usually - from the pelvis of the deceased), as well as mummies of people and animals.

A few years ago, one of the valuable sources of such information found in Jerusalem. Thus, the archaeologists who security and rescue excavations in the area of Armon Hanatziv, explored the remains of a rich estate, next to which in ancient times was broken garden. On its territory, among other things, they found limestone slab with a hole in the center, under which there was a cesspool. According to researchers, this toilet dates back to the 7th century BC.

Subsequently, paleoparasitologists studied samples of ancient faeces recovered during the excavation of this toilet. This work allowed reveal that people who used the latrine suffered from four different parasites: human roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), bovine (Taenia saginata) or pork (T. solium) tapeworm, and pinworms (Enterobius vermicularis).



Location of monuments where ancient toilets were found

Now Piers Mitchell from Cambridge university together with colleagues from Great Britain, Israel and the US presented the results of a new study of sediment samples, recovered from this ancient toilet. In addition, scientists analyzed materials from another cesspool discovered during the excavations of the so-called house of Ahiel, destroyed in 586 BC (presumably it was built in the 8th century BC).

This time the researchers turned enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) to find out if were present in the Middle East in the pre-Roman era parasites such as intestinal giardia (Giardia duodenalis), dysentery amoeba (Entamoeba histolytica) and cryptosporidium (Cryptosporidium). As a result of this work, paleoparasitologists found that in both cesspools there were intestinal giardia - causative agents of giardiasis.



Stone slab with a hole from the so-called house of Ahiel

According to scientists, the results are the world's oldest evidence of human infection with these intestinal parasites. Previously found in this region among the inhabitants of Asia Minor of the Roman era, as well as the inhabitants of Palestine era of the Middle Ages and the period of Ottoman rule. Besides, the ancient Indians of North America suffered from intestinal Giardia, who lived in Tennessee more than two thousand years ago, whose feces were found in one of the caves.

Earlier on N + 1 they told, that French scientists managed to find the egg of a parasitic worm about 300 thousand years old. They made this discovery while studying sinter formations from the Italian Bazura cave. Paleoparasitologists have determined that the egg belongs to the helminth from the taenid family.