What did the Romans ever do for us - brought us bedbugs

[ursaminortaur]

It appears that the Romans brought bedbugs to Britannia.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/03/incredibly-rare-discovery-reveals-bedbugs-came-to-britain-with-the-romans

'Incredibly rare’ discovery reveals bedbugs came to Britain with the Romans
Archaeologists find remains of insects that ‘hitchhiked’ here nearly 2,000 years ago

[Nimrod103]

It appears that the Romans brought bedbugs to Britannia.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/03/incredibly-rare-discovery-reveals-bedbugs-came-to-britain-with-the-romans

'Incredibly rare’ discovery reveals bedbugs came to Britain with the Romans
Archaeologists find remains of insects that ‘hitchhiked’ here nearly 2,000 years ago

I didn't see any evidence to support the conclusion that the Romans brought the bedbugs. They certainly lived with them, as soldiers bedding must be a perfect environment. But surely the Britons had them already?

[ursaminortaur]

It appears that the Romans brought bedbugs to Britannia.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/03/incredibly-rare-discovery-reveals-bedbugs-came-to-britain-with-the-romans

I didn't see any evidence to support the conclusion that the Romans brought the bedbugs. They certainly lived with them, as soldiers bedding must be a perfect environment. But surely the Britons had them already?

The article says that those found at this Roman site are the earliest ever found in Britain. New finds could obviously change that in the future but at the moment there is no evidence of bedbugs in pre-Roman Britain.

Note. Although these fossils show that bedbugs were around in Britain during Roman times they seem to have either died out or become very rare during later periods only becoming more common in the 16th and 17th Centuries.


https://www.bedbuggeneral.com/History_of_Bed_Bugs_s/83.htm

Bed bugs were mentioned in ancient Greece as early as 400 BC, and were later mentioned by Aristotle. Pliny's Natural History, first published circa 77 AD in Rome, claimed they had medicinal value in treating ailments such as snake bites and ear infections.
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Bed bugs were first mentioned in Germany in the 11th century, in France in the 13th century, and in England in 1583 though they remained rare in England until 1670.

[Nimrod103]

I didn't see any evidence to support the conclusion that the Romans brought the bedbugs. They certainly lived with them, as soldiers bedding must be a perfect environment. But surely the Britons had them already?

The article says that those found at this Roman site are the earliest ever found in Britain. New finds could obviously change that in the future but at the moment there is no evidence of bedbugs in pre-Roman Britain.

Note. Although these fossils show that bedbugs were around in Britain during Roman times they seem to have either died out or become very rare during later periods only becoming more common in the 16th and 17th Centuries.


https://www.bedbuggeneral.com/History_of_Bed_Bugs_s/83.htm

Bed bugs were mentioned in ancient Greece as early as 400 BC, and were later mentioned by Aristotle. Pliny's Natural History, first published circa 77 AD in Rome, claimed they had medicinal value in treating ailments such as snake bites and ear infections.
.
.
.
Bed bugs were first mentioned in Germany in the 11th century, in France in the 13th century, and in England in 1583 though they remained rare in England until 1670.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. A famous dictum which too many scientists forget.
Vindolanda is a unique place with almost unique preservation conditions. If the archaeologists presented a few Iron Age examples of similarly preserved domestic situations and lacking bedbugs, I would find that more convincing.

[Nimrod103]

This got me thinking. I note that Roman soldiers slept on bunk beds (presumably of wood with many cracks and crevices), and carried their bedding with them -
Roman soldiers on the march had a bedroll of sorts, an essential item that ensured their comfort and rest during gruelling campaigns. Known as the “sarcina,” this portable sleeping gear played a crucial role in the daily lives of Roman legionaries.(Google)

Which would seem ideal for spread and infestation of bedbugs.

Whereas the ancient Britons probably slept on the ground on straw, which they would have regularly burnt, as well as including repellent herbs such as fleabane.

[mc2fool]

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. A famous dictum which too many scientists forget.

And which too many non-scientists use to justify all sorts of nonsense, from aliens to pixies to the Loch Ness monster and a lot else.

An absence of evidence is evidence of absence in a well studied/observed area. E.g. we can dismiss any claim that there's a pack of wolves living in Hyde Park precisely for that reason.

I have no idea how well studied archaeological bedbugs are, however I do know that environmental sampling and analysis is something that's regularly done in excavations. I've taken column samples for that purpose myself on a couple of digs (although not done the analysis; they went off to a lab for that).