International Journal of Osteoarckaeology, V o l . I : 2 73-2 7 7 (1991)

ABSTRACT

Dental Disease in a Romano-British Skeletal Population from Baldock, Hertfordshi re FRANCIS THORNTON Calvin Wells Laboratory, University of Bradford, Bradford 807 lDP, UK

In the 1980s preparatory mechanical excavations for a new phase of building development at Baldock, Hertfordshire, revealed Romano-British inhumations. Subsequent excavations re- covered 122 burials, which have been attributed to the fourth century AD.

The material was submitted to the Calvin Wells Laboratory, University of Bradford, for detailed skeletal examination. This paper discusses the oral pathology identified and quantified for this relatively small but discrete population sample. The analysis and recording system devised for this exercise indicate that caries was the most serious prevalent dental disease affecting the majority of the individuals of all age groups. The project attempted to integrate the dental pathological evidence with documentary and artefactual evidence for oral hygiene and dentistry in the Roman period.

Keywords: Roman period, Dental disease, Dentistry, Oral hygiene.

Introduction

Baldock is located on a chalk ridge beside a prehistoric track, and has the added amenity of freshwater springs nearby. Finds from the settlement area confirm late neolithic, middle Bronze Age, and four centuries of Roman occupation prior to the medieval town founded by the Knights Templars in the twelfth century, which is the basis of the current market town. The Roman town owes its existence to a stra- tegic location, at the junction of what became a major road system from the cities of Camulodu- num (Colchester), Verulamium (St Albans) and the ‘Great North Road’.

Excavations in the 1920s and 1930s by W. P. Westwell (curator of Letchworth Museum), recovered evidence of early Roman occupation in the form of a large number of cremations dated from the first to the third century. For the purposes of this paper, we are only interested in the inhumations dated to the fourth century, which were recovered between 1980-1983 when mechanical excavations for new housing developments disturbed many of the burials. Excavation by the Letchworth Museum re-

covered skeletal remains from 122 graves, which were submitted to the Calvin Wells Laboratory for examination and report. The burials in the main were recorded as extended and supine, although examples of contracted, decapitated individuals with the skull at the feet, and of prone burials were also noted.

Age at death

The examination of the remains,’ provided supportive post cranial data for ageing and sexing the c~ l l ec t ion .~ ’~ The following age categories were used: infant (I), subadult (SIA), young adult (Y/A), mature adult (MIA), old adult (OIA) and indeterminate adult (IIA). Figure 1 shows the demographic chart and histogram of ’age at death’.

Whilst the histogram illustrates that the majority of males and females died in the same M I A group, when taking into consideration the adjacent columns it is evident that more females died in the YIA-MIA group, whilst the majority of male deaths are in the MIA-OIA 1 group. The earlier age at death of females is probably a

1047-482Xl91l030273-05$05.00 @ 1991 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Received 2 November 1990 Revised 20 January 1991

274 F. Thornton

FI MALE

UNKNOWN

Figure 1. Age at death

result of the stress of child bearing over the years of fecundity. Although recent experiences have cast doubt on the reliability of some of the ageing techniques, the estimated average age of death is 32.4 years for males, and 32.8 years for females.

Of the 122 burials, 98 have skulls or skull fragments and 87 have complete or partial dentition. To provide a record of the dentition, an individual report sheet was devised as a chart using the Zsigmond format for deciduous or permanent teeth. Provision was made, by tke use of code letters, for recording the location of the disease. These were (0) occlusal, (B) buccal, (L) Lingual, (M) mesial and (D) distal, for any of the six basic oral lesions on the tooth present, using an expanded version of Brothwell's categories (Table I).'

To facilitate statistical anatysis, numerical values are applied to the grading of the path- ology noted. Each recording block permits entry of location symbol and numerical grading for the pathology present. Sex categories and age groups attributed are indicated by 'tick blocks'.

Table 1. Recording categories.

Category Code

Tooth present Tooth unerupted Tooth erupting Tooth lost antemortem Tooth lost postmortem Tooth broken antemorten Tooth broken postmortem Alveolar - missing section Alveolar - area of resorption

P U E X /

BA BP - -

A sample report sheet, partially completed, is shown in Figure 2.

Pathological observations

The oral pathological examination revealed that dental caries was by far the most significant disease present. Sixty-one individuals, re- presenting 70 per cent of the sample with dentition, featured carious teeth, attributed as follows: males, 26 (43 per cent); females, 32 (52 per cent); indeterminate, 3 (5 per cent).

These values are proportional to the ratio of the sexes in the sample, and indicate there is no sexual bias in the presence of caries. Of the 1375 teeth examined, 196 featured carious lesions, varying from the onset of demineralization to the total loss of the crown. This represents a figure of 1 4 per cent carious, which compares favourably with the frequency graph for Britain as shown in Figure 3.4

Considering the age of individuals with caries, as one might expect the number increases with age up to the 'old adult' 1 group. The reduction above this age is attributed to the increase in antemortem losses, probably as a result of severe carious lesions culminating in abscesses and exfoliation. Only 13 individuals exhibit sinuses identifying 21 abscesses, of which the majority are associated with severe carious lesions to posterior locations. Analysis of the location of carious teeth showed no preference for maxilla, mandible or sex. However, Figure 4 illustrates a marked posterior predominance applied to all age groups. It is suggested that, since these locations perform the greater por- tion of chewing in the mastication process, food

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Figure 3. The frequency of caries from skeletal remains in Britain (after Brothwell, 1981).

impaction both occlusally in fissures, and inter- proximally, is significant in the development of caries. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate various exam- ples of severe carious lesions, together with alveolar infection and horizontal attrition. The increase in postmortem anterior tooth loss influences the assessment of enamel hypoplasia;

per cent Of the teeth examined displayed the linear furrows or pores

less than Figure 4. Carious teeth distribution in Baldock skeletons, according to age group.

276 F. Tkornfon

Figure 5. Inferior view of mandible displaying occlusal caries to 2nd and 3rd molars. loss of crown of 2nd premolar and horizontal attrition.

Figure 7. Lateral view of mandible displaying overbite, with severe labial attrition to the anterior teeth.

Figure 6. Lateral view of mandible featuring gross caries and loss of 1st molar crown, localized alveolar infection and resorption and buccal carious lesions at the cemento- enamel junction.

Figure 8. Frontal view of mandible featuring displaced impacted left canine and increased localized attrition.

that identify this type of pathology. Dental attrition is not a disease but the consequence of wear, primarily to the occlusal surface, predis- posing to other pathological change. None of the dentition displayed gross wear. Although attri- tion is generally horizontal (flat), one gross example of overbite with severe wear to the labial surface of a mandible is illustrated in Figure 7. Malocclusion is evident only in minor displacement and rotation, with overcrowding of anterior teeth. Impaction of a displaced mandibular left canine, toget her with localized increased occlusal wear is featured in Figure 8. The small, unresorbed, clean socket, indicates the retention of a deciduous canine, which has subsequently been lost postmortem.

To test for association between caries and age of death, Table 2 has been drawn up for the 87 individuals with dentition.

The contingency table shows random dis- tribution of carious individuals within adult age groups. However, the expected, and lower, prevalance observed in the subadult group is numerically insufficient to influence the statistical analysis. Chi-square tests indicate no significant association between individuals with caries and age group. Caution is, however, recommended in accepting statistical analysis on such a small sample.

Evidence of diet

Analysis of animal bones from Baldock has indicated that for the phase of the site in which we are interested, the majority were from domesticated an i rna l~ .~ Sheep predominate, followed by cattle and pig. This is in agreement

Roman Baldock, Dental Disease 277

with Davis’ study, which demonstrated in- creased sheep consumption at non-military sites.6 No cereal evidence was recovered although domestic ovens are reported. Micro- scopic analysis of calculus may provide a further insight into diet and oral ecology, and suggest what is responsible for the predominance of ~ a r i e s . ~

Table 2. Contingency table.

Age Group + Caries - Caries Total

Sub adult 3 6 9 Young adult 9 3 12 Mature adult 27 10 37 Old adult 19 6 25 Indeterminate 3 1 4

61 26 a7

Roman dentistry and oral hygiene

Although no skeletal or archaeological evidence exists from Baldock for the practise of dentistry, it is evident from numerous sources that dental procedures were well developed in the Roman Empire by the fourth century AD.’ The Romans also produced cosmetic prostheses of earlier Etruscan type to replace teeth, using ex-human or calf teeth. Examples have been dated to 300 BC

and they are referred to in the Law Tables of 450 BC. In the volumes of medicine by Celcus, tooth- ache is described as ’amongst the greatest of torments’, and the application of heat and paste containing ’poppy juice tears’ is recommended. Surgical procedures are confirmed with the treatment for abscesses: ‘they should be cut into for fear the bone may suffer if puss be retained longer’, and if a diseased tooth is considered responsible, ‘the place to be laid open, tooth extracted and any diseased bone scraped away’. Book 7 recommends cauterization of the gingiva for periodontal disease, and refers to the use of forceps. Examples of dental forceps and other surgical instruments were recovered from the Roman fort hospital at Saalburg in Germany. Althought the Romans clearly had the ability to remove teeth, the widespread evidence of dental disease in skeletal remains indicates that relatively simple procedures were seldom prac- tised.

Considering the evidence for oral hygiene, the poems of Catullus, offer an unusual insight into oral washes.’

Extract from poem 39.

Because he has bright white teeth, Egnatius whips out a tooth-flash on all possible and impossible occasions. In court, at a funeral, . . . . . . . . . . . . Where, when, whatever the place or time

A Roman, a Tiburtine or Sabine, washes his teeth. Well-fed Umbrians and over-fed Etruscans, wash theirs daily. The dark Lanuvians, and we Veronese, all wash our teeth. Spaniards use their morning urine for tooth wash. To us that blinding mouthful means only one thing, The quantity of urine you have swallowed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . (grin).

The use of urine as a surfactant cleaning agent is well attested, and in the early part of this century, was collected daily for use in the ’fulling process’ of lambs wool. The morning urine would be preferable as a tooth wash, as this sample would contain a higher percentage of ammonia, which acts primarily as a releasing agent. What other oral washes were used has not been resolved. Observations generally, however, would indicate they were ineffectual.

References

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Roberts, C. A. Human remains from Baldock. 1984 (unpublished). Ubelaker, D. H. Human Skeletal Remains. Wash- ington: Taraxacorn, 1989; 63-65. Bass, W. M. H u m a n Osfeology: a Laboratory and Field M a n u a l . Columbia, Missouri: Missouri Archaeological Society, 1987. Brothwell, D. R. Digging Up Bones. London: British Museum, 1981. Stead, I. M. and Rigby, V. Baldock. London: Brita- nia Monograph Series, No. 7. 1986. Davies, R. W. The Roman military diet. Bri fannia ,

Dobney, K. and Brothwell, D. R. Dental calculus: its relevance to diet and oral ecology. In Teeth and Anthropology. BAR 5 291,1981; 55-81. Hoffman-Axthelrn, W. History of Dentistry. Chicago: Quintessence Publication, 1981; 66-79. Rieu, E. V. (ed). T h e Poems of C a f u h . Translation by P. Whigham, 1969.

1971; 122-142.