FUN FACT HORN Paleoscatologists like Dr Andrew ( Bone ) Jones study poo and parasites in order to map the history of disease across time .
This particular person clearly didn ’ t eat their greens . ( It looks like their poor botty may have paid the price .)
What ’ s so interesting about a gigantic Viking poo ?
Poo can tell us a huge amount about how our ancestors lived ( and died ). It gives us an insight into ancient diets and the environment around the people who lived at the time . The Viking-age diet was varied and seasonal , with lots of bread .
This particular poo contains the eggs of whipworm ( Trichuris ) and ascariasis ( Ascaris ) – parasites that live in the intestine . Staggeringly , an average inhabitant of Jorvik may have harboured between 600 and 2,500 whipworms ! Worms cause stomach aches , diarrhoea and inflammation of the bowel .
Adult worms can move from the intestine and enter other organs where they can cause serious damage , even moving into such places as the ear and the nose of unfortunate sufferers .
Whipworms cause severe , frequent , and painful bowel movements , as well as diarrhoea that smells worse than usual and can lead to other horrible conditions . ( Erm is that TMI ?! Ed )
Yeah maybe … but understanding worm biology and history is important , because these infections cause so much suffering around the world , especially in lower income countries . This is my main job as an NHS doctor – looking after patients with infections caught in these parts of the world .
I often think about how dreadful many aspects of ancient life would have been , and top of my list are 1 . Parasite infections causing itching , pain , fatigue and discomfort and 2 . Fighting battles . I guess the one thing to gain comfort from is that the people you would have been fighting would also have been feeling terrible too !
FUN FACT HORN
How did Vikings clean their bottoms ? The answer is a special plant called Sphagnum moss . It ’ s very absorbent and has antibacterial properties .
Words : Dr Chris van Tulleken . Illustration : Nick Taylor . Photo : The Lloyds Bank coprolite , Linda Spashett Storye book , via Wikimedia Commons
Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution
We ’ ll be looking at how our diets – the things we eat and the way in which we eat them – have changed over many centuries in this year ’ s CHRISTMAS LECTURES from the Royal Institution . Did you know that we used to think cooking food was just a cultural activity , but now we know it ’ s much more important than that ! Check out this link for more info : www . rigb . org / christmas-lectures .