Malaria, Witchcraft, Infant Cemeteries and the Fall of Rome
This lecture examines evidence from an ancient Roman infant cemetery recently discovered at Lugnano in Teverina (Umbria). The cemetery contained forty-eight bodies. DNA testing techniques recently developed by Robert Sallares of the University of Manchester have revealed that the bodies contain evidence of an epidemic of plasmodium falciparum malaria. The cemetery also offers evidence of […]