2000年前罗马人的卫生习惯

Roman Toilets Offered No Clear Health Benefits 2000年前罗马人的卫生习惯

Around 2000 years ago, the Romans moved into Europe.

They built public latrines, or toilets, with many seats and washing areas.  And they built sewerage systems, brought in drinking water from aqueducts, and heated public baths for washing.

They even had laws to keep the towns free of human waste and trash.

But new archeological research shows that baths and public toilets with washing areas did not get rid of intestinal¹ parasites³.

In fact, parasites like whipworm, roundworm,  and Entamoeba histolytica dysentery slowly increased, compared to the Iron Age before the Romans ruled Europe.

Dr. Piers⁴ Mitchell conducted the research. He is from the Archaeology⁵ and Anthropology⁶ Department of Cambridge University in England.

His research suggests that “Roman toilets, sewers⁷ and sanitation⁸ laws had no clear benefit to public health,” he said. “Roman baths surprisingly gave no clear health benefit, either."

Intestinal parasites and ectoparasites -- such as lice – were widespread, he said.

The study used samples from ancient Roman times to assess “the health consequences of conquering an empire.”

Mitchell gathered evidence of parasites in ancient latrines, human burials and “coprolites” — or fossilized feces. He also examined combs and cloth from different Roman Period excavations⁹, or historical sites, across the Roman Empire.

Although the Romans were known for regular bathing, Mitchell found lice and fleas¹⁰ were just as widespread as in earlier times. The Vikings and medieval people did not have the same culture of bathing as the Romans.

He found evidence of special combs for removing lice from hair. Getting rid of lice could have been something many people did every day in the Roman Empire.

Mitchell said “modern research shows that toilets, clean drinking water and removing feces from the streets all decrease risk of infectious disease and parasites.”

So, why did parasites such as whipworm and roundworm increase even when cleaner methods were introduced by Romans?

He said it may have been the warm waters of the bathhouses that people shared. The waters were not changed often, and scum, or a layer of human dirt and cosmetics¹¹, would float on the top of the bathing water.

“Clearly, not all Roman baths were as clean as they might have been,” Mitchell said.

Another possibility from the study: Romans used human waste to fertilize¹² crops. Now, in modern times, we know the waste must not be used for many months before adding it to fields. Otherwise, it can spread parasite² eggs that survive in plants.

"It is possible that sanitation laws requiring the removal of feces from the streets actually led to reinfection of the population as the waste was often used to fertilize crops planted in farms surrounding the towns," Mitchell said.

The study also found that fish tapeworm eggs were widespread in the Roman Period, compared to earlier times in Europe.  Mitchell said this might be because the Romans loved a sauce called “garum.”

It was used both for eating and as medicine. Garum was made from pieces of fish, herbs, salt and other flavors. It was not cooked, but left out in the sun to ferment¹³. It was traded across the empire, so it may have transported the fish tapeworm along with the sauce, Mitchell said.

"The manufacture of fish sauce and its trade across the empire in sealed jars would have allowed the spread of the fish tapeworm … to people all across the empire.

“This appears to be a good example of the negative health consequences of conquering an empire," he said.

There is an upside, Mitchell added: "It seems likely that while Roman sanitation may not have made people any healthier, they would probably have smelt¹⁴ (smelled) better."

The findings are published in the journal Parasitology.

Words in This Story

vanquish¹⁵ –v. to defeat someone completely in war

sanitation –n. the process of keeping places free from dirt, infection, disease, etc., by removing waste, trash and garbage, by cleaning streets, etc.

intestinal parasite –n. an animal or plant that lives in another animal’s intestine¹⁶ and gets food or protection from it

dysentery –n. a serious disease that causes severe diarrhea and blood loss

sewerage –n. a system or process used for carrying water and sewage

aqueducts –n. a structure that looks like a bridge and carries water, or pipe or channel used to carry water

trash –n. waste

fossilized feces –n. human waste that is was from ancient times and that you can see in some rocks

ferment –v. go through a chemical change that results in alcohol production

1 intestinal   

adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌

参考例句：

• A few other conditions are in high intestinal obstruction. 其它少数情况是高位肠梗阻。 来自辞典例句
• This complication has occasionally occurred following the use of intestinal antiseptics. 这种并发症偶而发生在使用肠道抗菌剂上。 来自辞典例句

2 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

3 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

4 piers   

n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩

参考例句：

• Most road bridges have piers rising out of the vally. 很多公路桥的桥墩是从河谷里建造起来的。 来自辞典例句
• At these piers coasters and landing-craft would be able to discharge at all states of tide. 沿岸航行的海船和登陆艇，不论潮汐如何涨落，都能在这种码头上卸载。 来自辞典例句

5 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

6 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

7 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

9 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

10 fleas   

n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求）

参考例句：

• The dog has fleas. 这条狗有跳蚤。
• Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas. 除非要捉跳蚤，做事不可匆忙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

12 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

13 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

14 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

15 vanquish   

v.征服，战胜；克服；抑制

参考例句：

• He tried to vanquish his fears.他努力克服恐惧心理。
• It is impossible to vanquish so strong an enemy without making an extensive and long-term effort.现在要战胜这样一个强敌，非有长期的广大的努力是不可能的。

16 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。