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Around 2000 years ago, the Romans moved into Europe. They built public latrines, or toilets, with many seats and washing areas. And they built sewerage systems, brought in drinking water from aqueducts, and heated public baths for washing. They even had laws to keep the towns free of human waste and trash.
2000年前，罗马人来到欧洲。他们修建了公共厕所，里面有马桶和洗手区域。建造了下水道系统，自来水管道和公共浴室。甚至专门制定法律来维护公共卫生。
But new archeological research shows that baths and public toilets with washing areas did not get rid of intestinal parasites.
但是，新的考古研究发现，即使在公共卫生间里安装了洗漱区，还是不能摆脱感染寄生虫。
In fact, parasites like whipworm, roundworm, and Entamoeba histolytica dysentery slowly increased, compared to the Iron Age before the Romans ruled Europe.
事实上，类似鞭虫、 蛔虫和阿米巴痢疾寄生虫相比铁器时代也就是罗马人统治欧洲之前，数量有所增加
Dr. Piers Mitchell conducted the research. He is from the Archaeology and Anthropology Department of Cambridge University in England. His research suggests that "Roman toilets, sewers and sanitation laws had no clear benefit to public health," he said. "Roman baths surprisingly gave no clear health benefit, either."
英国剑桥大学考古学和人类学系Piers Mitchell博士组织了研究。他的研究表明："罗马式厕所，下水道系统和修订的保护公共环境卫生法律对公共健康一点好处也没有。罗马式洗浴室也是一样"
The study used samples from ancient Roman times to assess "the health consequences of conquering an empire." Mitchell gathered evidence of parasites in ancient latrines, human burials and "coprolites" — or fossilized feces. He also examined combs and cloth from different Roman Period excavations, or historical sites, across the Roman Empire.
研究取样自古代罗马时期，为了调查一代帝国的健康状况。Mitchell收集了古代厕所、人类坟墓和粪化石证据资料，还研究了来自不同罗马时期的衣服和梳洗用品。
Although the Romans were known for regular bathing, Mitchell found lice and fleas were just as widespread as in earlier times. The Vikings and medieval people did not have the same culture of bathing as the Romans. He found evidence of special combs for removing lice from hair. Getting rid of lice could have been something many people did every day in the Roman Empire.
尽管，罗马人最出名的就是完善的洗浴设备，Mitchell还是发现跳蚤和臭虫和以前一样多。虽然早期和中世纪的人不像罗马人一样爱洗澡。他还发现了一种能够除去头发上虱子的梳子，除虱也许是罗马人每天都要做的事
Mitchell said "modern research shows that toilets, clean drinking water and removing feces from the streets all decrease risk of infectious disease and parasites." So, why did parasites such as whipworm and roundworm increase even when cleaner methods were introduced by Romans?
Mitchell表示："现代研究发现厕所，干净的饮用水和除去街道上的排泄物都能减少寄生虫的传播概率。"所以，为什么在讲卫生的罗马还是寄生虫数量上涨呢？
He said it may have been the warm waters of the bathhouses that people shared. The waters were not changed often, and scum, or a layer of human dirt and cosmetics, would float on the top of the bathing water. "Clearly, not all Roman baths were as clean as they might have been," Mitchell said.
他说，很有可能是因为人们在澡堂一起洗热水的缘故。热水不经常换，人身上的污垢就常常浮在水面上。他说："很明显，不是所有的罗马式洗浴都干净"
Another possibility from the study: Romans used human waste to fertilize crops. Now, in modern times, we know the waste must not be used for many months before adding it to fields. Otherwise, it can spread parasite eggs that survive in plants. "It is possible that sanitation laws requiring the removal of feces from the streets actually led to reinfection of the population as the waste was often used to fertilize crops planted in farms surrounding the towns," Mitchell said.
还有一个可能原因就是：罗马人用人排泄物浇灌作物。现代社会我们知道，过了很久的农家肥不能用来灌溉，否则会传播虫卵。"很有可能是法律禁止在街上倒排泄物，导致人们就把这些用来当作肥料灌溉农田，出现了再感染的现象。"
The study also found that fish tapeworm eggs were widespread in the Roman Period, compared to earlier times in Europe. Mitchell said this might be because the Romans loved a sauce called "garum." It was used both for eating and as medicine. Garum was made from pieces of fish, herbs, salt and other flavors. It was not cooked, but left out in the sun to ferment. It was traded across the empire, so it may have transported the fish tapeworm along with the sauce, Mitchell said.
研究还发现：和早期欧洲相比，鱼类条虫卵在罗马时期肆掠。可能是因为罗马人喜爱一直叫做garum 的酱料。这种酱料在吃饭之前用一点，或者是当作药。Garum是用鱼块、草药、盐和其他调味料制成的。没有经过烧制，而是放在太阳下发酵。在当时十分受欢迎，所以很有可能是这种酱料将鱼中的寄生虫转移到人体内的
"The manufacture of fish sauce and its trade across the empire in sealed jars would have allowed the spread of the fish tapeworm … to people all across the empire. "This appears to be a good example of the negative health consequences of conquering an empire," he said.
"这种鱼酱生产和在全国范围内贩卖，导致整个罗马帝国的人体内都含有这种寄生虫，这似乎是罗马帝国健康状况不佳的好例证"
There is an upside, Mitchell added: "It seems likely that while Roman sanitation may not have made people any healthier, they would probably have smelt (smelled) better."
但是也有好的一面，尽管罗马厕所的卫生情况实际不如人意，但是至少是没有什么异味的。
The findings are published in the journal Parasitology.
这些发现发表在parasitology杂志上
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