Paleoparasitological Findings from Rodent Coprolites Dated At 500 CE Sassanid Era in Archeological Site of Chehrabad(Douzlakh), Salt Mine Northwestern Iran

Abstract

Background: In this paper, paleoparasitological findings from rodent excrements ob-tained from Chehrabad Salt Mine archeological site located in northwest of Iran are demonstrated and discussed. Methods: Chehrabad Salt Mine archeological site located in northwest of Iran, dated to the Achaemenid (mid 1st mill. BCE) and to Sassanid (3rd cent. - 7th cent. CE) period, is a unique study area to investigate parasites in the past millenniums in Iran. Rodent cop-rolites obtained from this archeological site were thoroughly analyzed for parasite eggs using TSP re-hydration technique. Results: Specimen analyzed were attributed to juvenile and adult rats based on their apparent morphology comparing with the modern dried pellets of Muridea family. Hel-minth eggs retrieved from two positive pellets were identified as Trichosomoides crassi-cauda, Syphacia sp. and Trichuris sp. Conclusion: The present paper discusses the first paleoparasitological findings of ro-dent gastrointestinal helminthes in Iran along with possible favorite items to rats in ancient Chehrabad Salt Mine.

Keywords

• Iran
• Paleoparasitology
• Rodent