The Romans invaded Britain around 2,000 years ago and they introduced many things to our shores, including bathhouses, peas and writing. Experts have long suspected that they brought bedbugs too. These small insects live on furniture or bedding and are harmless but cause an irritating itch when they bite you to extract your blood. A recent discovery supports the theory.
Katie Wyse Jackson, a student from University College Dublin, Ireland, was examining soil that had been carefully removed from the remains of Vindolanda, a Roman fort (camp for Roman soldiers) near Hexham, England. In the soil she found two preserved bedbug thoraxes (the middle section of its body) that were nearly 2,000 years old. The discovery is the earliest known evidence of bedbugs in Britain.
Wyse Jackson told The Guardian…
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The Week Junior (UK) (Digital) - 1 Issue, 427