569
Effective disposal of human waste undoubtedly was instru-
mental to the maintenance of public health in pre-modern
towns and cities. Archaeologists have shown how in the Eng-
lish city of York, structures such as stone-built sewers were in-
tegral to that function [1]. Presumably, effective night-soil dis-
posal also was a top priority for contemporaneous East Asian
urban dwellers [2,3]. Whereas ancient-parasite-egg contamina-
tion of soil samples taken from sewer- or toilet-like structures
might be the effect of some sort of simple diffusion from out-
side areas, it is actually more probable that those structures
had in fact been cesspits or toilets.
In fact, the remnants of some East Asian cesspits already in-
vestigated have been confirmed, by the presence of helminth
eggs in soil samples, as having been used as human-waste res-
ervoirs [4]. In East Asian agrarian societies, fertilizer in the
form of night soils periodically carted away from urban sites to
surrounding farms was widely used [2-4]. In the case of Korea
though, there are very few reports on historical structures that
could be conjectured to have seen use as toilets or cesspits.
This makes information on the sanitary status of pre-modern
Korean cities particularly difficult to obtain.
Finally however, in 2004, Korean researchers located pre-
sumptive toilet structures amid the royal palace ruins of the
ancient Baekje Kingdom (18 BCE-660 CE) (the Wanggung-ri
site), from which structures they obtained soil samples found
to contain a significant number of ancient helminth eggs (Fig.
1) [5]. This discovery has served to intensify the academic con-
troversy surrounding the identification of toilets and cesspits
and their probable uses in historical Korean towns and cities.
In any case, it is certain that structures confirmed to have been
cesspits and toilets undoubtedly will prove, and are proving to
be, ideal resources for paleoparasitological studies [6]. In this
light, it is expected that our current cases also will be meaning-
ful to Korean paleoparasitologists and their investigations.
In a recent archaeological study on Buyeo, the capital of the
ancient Baekje Kingdom, we found candidate cesspit and toi-
let ruins that yielded many soil-transmitted helminth eggs. We
believe that our investigation likely will prove to be signifi-
cantly revelatory on the use and maintenance of toilets and
cesspits in ancient Korean towns or cities. On that basis, we
ISSN (Print) 0023-4001
ISSN (Online) 1738-0006
Korean J Parasitol Vol. 52, No. 5: 569-573, October 2014
http://dx.doi.org/
10.3347/kjp.2014.52.5.569
▣
BRIEF COMMUNICATION
•Received 9 January 2014, revised 14 July 2014, accepted 16 August 2014.
*Corresponding author (bbbenji@naver.com)
© 2014, Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0)
which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
V-shaped Pits in Regions of Ancient Baekje Kingdom
Paleoparasitologically Confirmed as Likely Human-Waste
Reservoirs
Dong Hoon Shin
1
, Sang-Yuck Shim
2
, Myeung Ju Kim
3
, Chang Seok Oh
1
, Mi-Hyun Lee
2
, Suk Bae Jung
4
,
Geon Il Lee
4
, Jong-Yil Chai
5
, Min Seo
6,
*
1
Bioanthropology and Paleopathology Lab, Institute of Forensic Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea;
2
Buyeo Cultural Heritage Center, Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do 323-802, Korea;
3
Department of Anatomy, Dankook University, Cheonan
330-715, Korea;
4
Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do 323-812, Korea;
5
Department of Parasitology
and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea;
6
Department of Parasitology and Research Center for
Mummy, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-715, Korea
Abstract:
In a paleo-parasitological analysis of soil samples obtained from V-shaped pits dating to the ancient Baekje pe-
riod in Korean history, we discovered Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and Clonorchis sinensis eggs. In light of the
samples’ seriously contaminated state, the V-shaped pits might have served as toilets, cesspits, or dung heaps. For a
long period of time, researchers scouring archaeological sites in Korea have had difficulties locating such structures. In
this context then, the present report is unique because similar kind of the ancient ruins must become an ideal resource for
successful sampling in our forthcoming paleoparasitological studies.
Key words:
Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Clonorchis sinensis, helminth egg, paleoparasitology, Baekje Kingdom, V-shaped pit
570
Korean J Parasitol Vol. 52, No. 5: 569-573, October 2014
will report herewith.
The soil samples (n
=57) examined in this paleoparasito-
logical study were collected from geological strata at archaeo-
logical sites (Gua-ri 319 and Gatap-ri, Dusireoggol remains) in
Buyeo, the capital of the ancient Baekje Kingdom (Fig. 1). The
strata were dated to the Sabi period (6th-7th century CE). At
this time, Gua-ri 319 was centrally located in a residential area
of Buyeo marked by puddles and ditches. Owing to the low
and moist topography there, many wooden relics could be ex-
cavated. At Gatap-ri, the Dusireoggol remains, remnants of
residential areas, roads, and water-catchment facilities were ex-
cavated (Fig. 2). The number of eggs per g of feces (EPG) was
calculated by multiplying 10 times to the average number of
eggs counted in soil samples considering that 10 g of soils were
dissolved in 20 ml of 0.5% trisodium phosphate solution per
each sample. An overall data summary is provided in Table 1.
At Gua-ri 319, we collected samples (n
=56) at 5 different
points, some of which were inside of a V-shaped pit. At Gatap-
ri, only 1 sample was obtained from a V-shaped pit. The sam-
ples were taken using conical tubes (Falcon Plastics, Los Ange-
les, California, USA) driven into the soil strata. Surface-soil
samples for use as negative controls also were taken.
Back at our laboratory, a contamination-minimization pro-
tocol entailing the wearing sterilized gloves, head caps, and
masks was followed. The samples were re-hydrated in 0.5%
trisodium phosphate solution [7,8] and observed in 10 µl
quantities 20 times (total per sample: 200 µl) under light-mi-
croscopy (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). Egg-size measurements
were taken from 10 eggs, and the number of helminth eggs per
A
B
Fig. 1.
(A) Ancient Korean kingdoms (Goguryo, Silla, and Baekje).
(B) Magnified image of green rectangle area. a, Gua-ri; b, Gatap-
ri. In both sites of ‘a’ and ‘b’, the toilets or cesspits could be iden-
tified by paleoparasitological examinations.
Fig. 2.
(A) A photograph of Gua-ri 319 remains. Helminth eggs
were recovered from the construct XII (arrow). (B) An aerial photo-
graph on the Dusireoggol remains, Gatap-ri. BD, building; R, resi-
dential area; W, water collecting facility; RD, road. The helminth
eggs were recovered from the construct suspected as the toilet
(arrow).
A
B
Shin et al.: V-shaped pits as likely human-waste reservoirs in Baekje Kingdom
571
gram (EPG) was estimated. Since 10 g of soil was dissolved in
20 ml of 0.5% trisodium phosphate solution per sample, the
EPG was calculated by dividing the average number of eggs
counted in each sample by 10.
Among the Gua-ri 319 samples, eggs were found only in
those taken from the V-shaped pit (area XII; no eggs were
found in areas XI, XVI, V, or IX). Their morphologies and sizes,
typical of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and Clonorchis
sinensis, respectively, identified them as such. Significantly, the
egg-bearing samples representing the Gatap-ri site, in the same
Buyeo area, also were obtained from a V-shaped pit, and the
species were the same; A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, and C. sinen-
sis (Fig. 3). The average egg dimensions and EPG for each site
’s
samples are summarized in Table 2.
A previous series of paleoparasitological studies showed
how historical high-population-density towns and cities in
East Asia removed human waste. For each spatial and tempo-
ral span of historical development, the pattern of night-soil re-
moval appeared to differ [2,3,5]. In another study, paleopara-
sitologists investigating the Neolithic Jomon period in Japan
Table 1.
V-shaped pit examined by paleoparasitological tech-
nique
Sites
Excavated by
Period
Area in sites
Number
of Samples
Gua-ri
Buyeo Cultural
Baekje
XII (V-shaped pit)
14
319
Heritage Center
XI
11
XVI
13
V
6
IX
12
Gatap-ri Korea National
Baekje
V-shaped pit
1
University of
Cultural Heritage
Total
57
Fig. 3.
Helminth egg discovery in the samples from Gua-ri (A) and Gatap-ri (B) sites in Buyeo. (A) Gua-ri site, the construct XII. V-shaped
pit could be identified. Sampling points are marked by dots. In every sample examined, Ascaris, Trichuris, or Clonorchis eggs were dis-
covered. (B) In Gatap-ri site, V-shaped pit was also discovered. The sampling point is marked by red dot. We also discovered Ascaris,
Trichuris, and Clonorchis eggs. Scale bars in each egg plate= 20 µm.
A
B
572
Korean J Parasitol Vol. 52, No. 5: 569-573, October 2014
found many human coprolites in a shell midden, indicating
that those pre-agrarian people used that site and others like it
as toilets, dung heaps, or night-soil reservoirs [4]. In time
though, the use of toilets, even flushing toilets, came to pre-
dominate in East Asia as in other areas of the ancient civilized
world [9,10], as confirmed by archaeological investigations [4].
Besides flushing toilets, a tradition of cesspit toilets was also
developed in East Asia. Cesspit toilets served farmers as reser-
voirs for the night soils they commonly utilized as a fertilizer.
Once the cesspits became full, their contents were carried away
to nearby farmlands. In fact, the use of cesspit toilets in a tradi-
tional Japanese society has been verified by archaeological in-
vestigations [4].
Meanwhile, similar reports on human-waste reservoirs in
Korea have been few. However, in 2004, as noted above, Kore-
an researchers finally found toilet-like structures at the Wang-
gung-ri site, the location of the ruins of the Baekje Kingdom
’s
Royal Palace. One such presumptive toilet was a 10.8 m
(length)
×1.8 m (width)×3.4 m (depth) pit. Also evident, sig-
nificantly, was a sewage canal connecting the toilets to the
Royal Palace perimeter grounds [5]. Parasitological examina-
tions of sediments sampled from those structures, in this semi-
nal Korean paleoparasitological investigations, revealed many
Ascaris, Trichuris, and Clonorchis eggs.
In much the same way, the current study also could prove to
be very meaningful to concerned researchers. We discovered
many of the same species (Ascaris, Trichuris, and Clonorchis) of
helminth eggs in soil samples obtained from the V-shaped pits
unearthed at the Gua-ri and Gatap-ri sites in Buyeo. Unfortu-
nately, however, final determination of their exact purpose
must remain unconfirmed for now, pending the accumulation
of more information, historical and otherwise, on ancient Ko-
rean towns and cities. Historical studies from other countries,
however, are suggestive. In both ancient Rome and medieval
London, for example, there were a number of latrines, cesspits,
dung heaps and gutters wherein human waste was accumulat-
ed [11]. Likewise, it is entirely possible that the V-shaped pits
investigated in the present study were used as cesspits, reser-
voirs, or dung heaps for the night soils of the Baekje people.
We note that even in this politico-cultural center of that an-
cient Korean kingdom, there might well have been many such
structures.
Our study established the presence of ancient helminth eggs
(A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, and C. sinensis) in soil samples ob-
tained from V-shaped pits in Buyeo, the capital of the ancient
Baekje Kingdom. Our overall results indicate that these pits
might have been used as human-waste reservoirs. Whereas this
is indeed a significant finding, we must also admit that the
number of cesspits or toilets reported thus far for historical
Korean towns or cities remains very small. Identifying and
studying additional archaeological structures that once func-
tioned as toilets or cesspits in historical Korean towns and cit-
ies, particularly those representing a variety of temporal and
spatial ranges undoubtedly will facilitate the locating and col-
lecting of ideal paleoparasitological samples.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Pro-
gram through the National Research Foundation of Korea
(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (no. 2013R1A1A
2009688). SYS and MHL worked for Guari-319 site; GIL and
SBJ worked for Gatap-ri as archaeologists. MJK and CSO
worked for sampling in the fields; MS, JYC and DHS did para-
sitological examinations and paper writing.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
We have no conflict of interest related to this work.
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