Faecal biomarker and archaeobotanical analyses of sediments from a public latrine shed new light on ruralisation in Sagalassos, Turkey

Abstract

a b s t r a c tA public latrine in the 'Imperial Baths' of Sagalassos was transformed into a dump site in the early Byzantine period. Several layers of urban waste, including ceramics, bones, glass and perhaps excrements were deposited on the floor. Faecal biomarker analyses and archaeobotanical analyses were conducted to reconstruct the history of the room. 5b-stanols of human origin, such as coprostanol, were found in the sewage channels together with mineralised plant remains, indicating a human faecal context. The botanical remains are furthermore representative of the Roman diet of the Sagalassians. Soil layers, deposited on top of the latrine floor and dating to the early Byzantine period, contained herbivore derived 5b-stanols, such as 5b-stigmastanol and epi-5b-stigmastanol. Additionally, a clear predominance of epi-5b-stanols over 5b-stanols showed that the animal dung has been subject to composting. In this period, the former latrine was clearly used as a manure production site which is further confirmed by stratigraphic evidence of large amounts of urban waste artefacts, which were commonly collected together with manure before application on the fields. The results of the present study support the theory that off-site potsherd scattering can be used as a proxy for manuring events. Additionally, the data show key evidence for vertical migration of 5b-stanols and presumably also for the leaching of bile acids.

Holy Smoke in Medieval Funerary Rites: Chemical Fingerprints of Frankincense in Southern Belgian Incense Burners

“…Especially coprostanol and epicoprostanol are biomarkers for faeces from an omnivore [65]. This is not surprising as the pot was recovered from a latrine.…”

Biostratigraphic Evidence Relating to the Age-Old Question of Hannibal's Invasion of Italy, II: Chemical Biomarkers and Microbial Signatures

“…The presence of both 5β‐stigmastanol and DCA at all depths within the soil section could be due to one of two factors. Baeten et al () observed migration of both stanols and bile acids in archaeological soils. They suggested that due to the solubility of bile acids, they are prone to leaching.…”

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Human Parasites in Medieval Europe

“…However, the eggs of some helminths of animals appear similar to those of humans, for example, roundworm and whipworm in pigs (Ascaris suis and Trichuris suis) produce eggs microscopically indistinguishable to roundworm and whipworm in humans (A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura). The most reliable technique to identify the species of origin of a coprolite is the detection of bile acids and sterols within the coprolite with mass spectrophotometry, as different animals produce different kinds of bile acids and sterols (Shillito et al, 2011;Baeten et al, 2012). However, this relatively new technique is not currently being widely applied to coprolite analysis due to its cost.…”