Scientists may have solved 2,000-year-old mystery death of Roman baby twins
Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email
*
SIGN UP
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Lead poisoning may have played a role in the death of fraternal twin babies from 2,000 years ago found buried facing each other in Croatia, according to a new study.
Though it's unclear exactly how the infants died, researchers, including Anna Osterholtz from Mississippi State University, suspect lead poisoning may have played a role.
The rare double burial was discovered in the Dragulin cemetery in the Croatian city of Trogir, which was part of the Roman province of Illyricum around 47BC.
Archaeologists first excavated the cemetery in 2016 when construction for a new parking lot uncovered ancient stone urns.
A DNA analysis revealed the infants were fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, buried together in the first or second century AD.
'They were buried in a single event, suggesting that they died at the same time, possibly as stillbirths,' the study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science concluded.
Artist's drawing of the double burial
( M Daniel Watkins )
Analysis of the skeletons indicated 'significant metabolic disease' in the infant twins and a 'typical Roman diet with marine foods'. The twins likely suffered from nutritional deficiencies, like scurvy or rickets, with their bodies unable to utilise some nutrients.
Researchers suspect their mother was malnourished or suffered from a metabolic disease herself which contributed to the poor health of the babies. Alternatively, the study suggests, the infants may have died from metabolic complications caused by lead poisoning.
'Lead poisoning has been linked to increased rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant mortality as well,' the study noted. 'This is due to the fact that lead exposure on the part of the mother is transmitted through placenta to the fetus and later through breast milk to the infant which may start to display pathological changes.'
Previous studies have documented the key role played by lead poisoning in the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Roman world widely used the toxic metal in its pipes and cookware as well as a food preservative and a sweetener in wine.
Researchers found conditions in the skeletons of the twins consistent with the effects of lead poisoning such as increased bone porosity.
A recent study of 150 people from ancient sites in Croatia also showed a 'tremendous increase in lead levels during the Roman period', the study said. 'The fact that a similar trend was noticed in several Roman period sites in the immediate vicinity of Tragurium may be additional confirmation for this hypothesis.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Qiu Xigui obituary
Qiu Xigui, who has died aged 89, first made his mark as a paleographer, a scholar of ancient writing, through researching Chinese 'oracle bones'. These are divinations inscribed on animal scapulae – shoulder blades – or turtle plastrons – the bottom part of their shells. The characters they employ are the earliest known forerunners of the modern Chinese writing system. Their appearance in the antiquities market led to the excavation from the late 1920s of the last capital of the Shang dynasty (c1600-1050 BC) at Yinxu, near Anyang, in Henan province. This spectacular discovery set the stage for an attempt to reconstruct the history of Chinese early civilisation on the basis of archaeological and paleographic evidence that is still central to Chinese humanities research, and gave Qiu the opportunity to develop a systematic approach to identifying and tracing the evolution of countless ancient Chinese characters. As with their counterparts today, they combine semantic elements with phonetic ones. Pictographs or ideographs were used to form characters, which were then borrowed, along the lines of a rebus picture puzzle, to write words with the same or similar sound values. Then, further semantic elements might be added to distinguish these phonetic borrowings from the original character. Even though this basic system of character formation is still reflected in the modern script, both the spoken language and writing evolved in a complex manner over the next 3,000 years, making the ancient script difficult to decipher. Qiu's analytic method was outlined in his book, Wenzixue Gaiyao, first published in 1988, and translated into English as Chinese Writing (2000). He was renowned for his rigorous standards of proof and for publishing articles in which he corrected previous mistakes when he discovered them. In one instance, a pedicab driver with a high school diploma and a passion for paleography wrote to him after reading one of his articles offering a different interpretation of a character. Realising his mistake, Qiu not only corrected himself, but helped the man to get admitted to Fudan University, in Shanghai. Born in that city, Qiu was a teenager when the Communist party came to power in 1949. His family was classified as 'petty bourgeois' because his father had invested money in the factory where he worked. However, Qiu passed the competitive university examination and was admitted to the history department of Fudan in 1952. In his first year, he took a class with Hu Houxuan, a pioneering oracle bone scholar, and devoted himself to the study of ancient writing. In 1956, when Qiu graduated, he accompanied Hu when the latter moved to the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Then, in 1960, Qiu was appointed to teach at Peking University. Like most intellectuals during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution periods, Qiu spent periods of time labouring in the countryside and criticising himself at meetings. Nevertheless, with the help of older colleagues, he found ways to continue doing his paleographic research. In 1972, just as the Cultural Revolution was beginning to wind down, construction workers at Changsha Mawangdui in Hunan province happened upon a tomb. When it was excavated by archaeologists, they discovered that it had been perfectly sealed and contained the preserved corpse of a woman, including her soft tissue and the textiles in which her body was wrapped. Her son's tomb, which was closed in 168 BC, was nearby and contained more than 20 manuscripts brush-written on silk, including two copies of the Daoist classic known as the Laozi, and the Book of Changes (the Yijing, or I Ching), as well as other texts. In 1974, Qiu joined a small group charged with transcribing the Mawangdui manuscripts into modern characters. His responsibility was the Laozi, and his research on these manuscripts aided in the transcription of earlier manuscripts brush-written on slips of bamboo – the Guodian Chu slips, taking their name from the ancient state of Chu – that were found in a tomb in Guodian, Hubei province, in 1993. That tomb, which also included sections of the Laozi, has been dated to around 300 BC. Thus, the manuscripts, which included many philosophical texts, were probably written down during the lifetime of Confucius' most famous disciple, Mencius. They were recorded in a regional style, and when they were published with transcriptions in 1998, they carried annotations by Qiu. In 2005, Qiu was invited to Fudan to head a new Centre for Research on Excavated Classics and Paleography. Since the discovery of the Guodian tomb, many more bamboo and silk manuscripts have been unearthed. Accordingly, this institution focuses primarily on their decipherment and interpretation. Qiu's intellectual leadership is evident in the lively academic discussions posted online by his graduate students. Qiu also promoted international scholarly cooperation, teaching and mentoring many foreign students, both at Peking University and at Fudan. In 1982-83 he taught paleography at the University of Washington in Seattle, and in 2000 received an honorary doctorate from the University of Chicago. I first met Qiu Xigui in 1984 in Beijing, when I was teaching for Soas University of London. By the time we invited him to London in 1992, he had already been diagnosed with glaucoma, and while magnifying glasses, computers and his devoted students helped him to continue his work, eventually he became totally blind. Even then, he continued his work by dictating his ideas to his students. He is survived by his wife, Dong Yan, and his son, Qiu Shi. Qiu Xigui, paleographer, born 13 July 1935; died 8 May 2025
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Fort Cumberland archaeological labs reopen after refit
The laboratories used to carry out research on some of the country's most significant heritage sites have reopened after a Fort Cumberland Laboratories in Portsmouth have been equipped with tools to help understand how artefacts are made and how best to preserve site has been central in projects ranging including the re-excavation of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire and studying human remains found at Hadrian's England said the site "plays a vital role in telling the stories of England's past". Specialist work has been carried out at Fort Cumberland for the past 75 team has helped conserve artefacts from the 18th Century Dutch warship the Rooswijk off the Kent coast and analysed human remains at Birdoswald Roman Fort Cemetery at Hadrian's Wall in refit of the laboratories has involved new heating and cooling equipment includes a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometry system (Sem-Eds) for analysing historic allows for imaging of very small features such as nanocrystals, as well as mapping the chemical composition of a wide range of materials. The system can be used to analyse dental wear in archaeological remains, the causes of bone discolouration, insect remains and historic building Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "The amazing work of our archaeologists and heritage scientists is helping to uncover the hidden stories that connect us to our distant past."This new investment in Fort Cumberland's laboratories will enhance our research and conservation work, and improve access to our expertise, equipment and collections, helping more people to enjoy and care for their heritage." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
York roadworks uncover remains of medieval hospital
Historic remains believed to be part of one of the largest medieval hospitals in the north of England have been uncovered during emergency roadworks in works began after a sinkhole opened up outside the Theatre Royal on St Leonard's Place in further investigation, archaeologists uncovered what is believed to be part of the 12th to13th Century St Leonard's Hospital, which covered an area between the modern day Museum Gardens and the Kate Ravilious, executive member for transport, said the finds were "fascinating" but admitted they had delayed the completion of the roadworks. "We knew that there is a lot of complex archaeology in the area dating back to the Roman legionary fortress," she said."Throughout the works we have been live to this while doing all we can to get off site as quickly as possible." The area around the discovery was used as the Royal Mint in the post-Reformation finds, which have been documented and sent for further analysis, are believed to become part of the Mint Yard, a sprawling area of streets and buildings in the early 19th buildings were flattened in 1836 to make way for a Georgian streetscape and the area became one of the most fashionable parts of the city during the time parts of the city walls were used to make the base for the road. Repair works are now able to resume, but the current closure of one lane on St Leonard's Place will remain until 13 June, when it is anticipated both lanes will reopen. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
