Microbiological Food Contamination and Status of Health at Herculaneum (1 Century Ad, Southern Italy)

Abstract

The perfect preservation of objects, including food items, found in the houses of the Roman town of Herculaneum provides a unique perspective on the relationship between the state of health and nutrition in Roman times. The link between epizoonosis and the use of goat cheese has already been demonstrated. In this study, we show that other foods were also microbiologically contaminated, and that the Romans were continually exposed to alimentary sources of human illness. However, anthropological analysis of the skeletons of Herculaneum has shown a low prevalence of non-specific bone inflammation. We demonstrate that pomegranates and figs, consumed primarily in dried form, were invariably contaminated by Streptomyces spp, a bacterium that produces natural tetracycline. Histological analysis of the human bones from this site demonstrates a fluorescence typical of this substance. The tetracycline-labeled human bones show that the Roman inhabitants of Herculaneum were in the habit of eating foods contaminated by streptomicetes; this fact may explain the very low frequency of non-specific inflammatory bone pathologies in the living population. This interpretation fits with the therapeutic recommendations by several Roman physicians that preserved fruits be used to treat some inflammatory diseases.