PARASITOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON SAMPLES OF SEDIMENT FROM EXCAVATIONS AT 7-9 ALDWARK, YORK. (YAT SITE CODE 1985.5)
Author(s): A R Hutchinson, A K G Jones, W J B McKenna
Seventy-three sub-samples of sediment collected from a variety of archaeological features on the site at 7-9 Aldwark, York (site code 1985.5) were examined for parasite ova and other microfossils. The sampled deposits ranged in date from pre-Roman to medieval, though most of the samples were taken from the Roman defensive works surrounding the fortress. Twenty-nine of the sub-samples contained moderately well-preserved ova of the genera Trichuris and/ or Ascaris. Further- more, twenty-seven sub-samples contained structures which closely resembled the shells of free-living testate protozoans. The concentration of the ova from five sub-samples suggests that human faeces were a major component of twoAnglo-Scandinavian pits, contexts 114 and 137. Seven other sub-samples from the same two pits were also shownto have contained faecal matter, though in lesser quantities. Thirteen further sub-samples (mostly from medieval features, though four were of Roman date) probably contained only a 'background' level of re-deposited ova.
- Report Number:
- 37/1988
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 11
- Keywords:
- Animal Remains Parasites, Pests and Diseases
