‘Incredibly rare’ discovery blames Romans for spreading bedbugs across Europe

Bed bloodsuckers came to Britain in ancient times by hitchhiking

An “incredibly rare” discovery by archaeologists suggests bedbugs arrived in Britain with the ancient Romans. Researchers find remains of insects that “hitchhiked” to Albion almost 2,000 years ago.

The Romans left their mark on British healthcare – from running water to public baths, writes The Observer. But perhaps not all traces were positive. Archaeologists working at Vindolanda, the site of a Roman garrison south of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, have unearthed new evidence that the Romans also brought… bedbugs to Britain.

Dr Andrew Burley, who leads the Vindolanda archaeological team, said: “It is incredibly rare to find them in any ancient context.”

The discovery was made by 24-year-old Katie Wise Jackson, a student at University College Dublin (UCD) who was working on the excavated material as part of her master’s program in archaeoentomology, the study of insects on archaeological sites, The Observer writes.

Focusing on one of the lowest layers of Vindolanda, which dates back to around 100 AD, she discovered two thoraxes believed to belong to the common bug, known by its Latin name Cimex lectularius. They use needle-like mouthparts to pierce people’s skin to suck their blood.

“Looking for these kinds of things helps humanize the people of the past,” says Katie Wise Jackson. Noting that the Roman philosopher Pliny wrote about the medicinal value of bedbugs in treating certain diseases, such as ear infections, she added: “People then had very different ideas about what insects could do.”

The team included Dr Stephen Davies, lecturer in environmental archeology at University College Dublin. He said there was another Roman site in England where antique bugs had been found earlier, Alcester in Warwickshire, but Vindoland’s would be “the earliest found in Britain to date.”

By analyzing soil samples, Katie Wise Jackson also discovered beetles that could provide additional information: “I can tell about trade, food storage, hygiene, waste management by what species are present and in what quantities. At the moment I am finding a large number of grain and dung beetles. So we’re not really looking for clean space here. The most important thing is that most of the insects that I find are so-called synanthropes. They live in close proximity to people. The Romans really have a reputation for being extremely clean people, and so it’s interesting to find all these insects that contradict that.”

According to The Observer, one theory is that the Romans brought bedbugs to Britain in their straw mattresses. Wise Jackson notes: “It is very likely that they arrived with the things that the Romans brought. Today we see bedbugs traveling on airplanes in luggage and clothing. The Romans brought clothing, straw, and grain in huge quantities when they set up their camps. So it was a perfect opportunity for one or two bedbugs to hitchhike.”