Archaeological team's 'rare' discovery blames Romans for bedbugs in UK

In a new discovery, the archaeologists have now claimed that the bedbugs were brought to the United Kingdom by the Romans.

Fresh evidence, which proved that the bedbugs were brought by the Romans, was unearthed by the archaeologists working at Vindolanda, which is a Roman garrison site located in the south of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, reportedThe Guardian.

In the study, the head of the Vindolanda archaeological team Dr Andrew Birley said, “It is incredibly rare to find them in any ancient context.”

The discovery was made by 24-year-old Katie Wyse Jackson, who is a student at University College Dublin (UCD). She was investigating the excavated material as part of her research in archaeoentomology (the study of insects present at archaeological sites).

Two thoraces dating around AD100 discovered

Jackson discovered two thoraces – which dated back to around AD100 – and was said to have come from the common bedbug, which is known as Cimex lectularius. The thoraces were found in the lowest layers of Vindolanda.

“Finding this kind of thing helps humanise the people of the past,” said Wyse Jackson, in her research.

Emphasising how Roman philosopher Pliny mentioned the bedbugs' medicinal value in the treatment of certain ailments like ear infections, she said, “People then had all sorts of notions of what insects could do.”

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Lecturer in environmental archaeology at UCD Dr Stephen Davis was part of the specialist team.

He claimed that these thoraces were earlier found in Alcester in Warwickshire, another Roman site in England, and added that the ones found in Vindolanda would be “the earliest found in Britain so far”.

While analysing soil samples, Wyse Jackson also found beetles can provide further insights: “I can learn about trade, food storage, hygiene, waste disposal from what species are present and in what numbers. At the moment, I’m finding a large amount of grain and dung beetles,” she said.

“So we’re really not looking at a clean space here. Most importantly, a large proportion of the insects I’m finding are what we call synanthropic. They live in close proximity to humans. The Romans do have that reputation as being extremely clean and so it’s interesting to find all of these insects that are contrary to that,” she added.

(With inputs from agencies)