Let's taste what God has sent …
Well, that poop came in handy! Inquisitive scientists have found out what food the inhabitants of Belgium ate in the 12th-17th centuries, having studied pollen from fossilized feces from cesspools, as well as medieval latrines and garbage latrines. And that was far from "food of the gods", let's face it!..
A scientist named Kon Deforce, who is a paleobiologist, has done a very unusual study. He tried to find out what foods the medieval people of Belgium ate in the XII-XVII centuries, by analyzing fossilized feces from cesspools, latrines and garbage latrines. Defors published his scientific work in the journal Quaternary International.
It is thanks to plant pollen that scientists can identify food products that people ate many centuries ago. It has a unique outer layer that does not break down over time and is not digested in the gastrointestinal tract. Also, pollen tends to attach to grains, vegetables and some other food.
Kon Defors studied medieval toilets in the north of Belgium. In the course of his research, he found that the inhabitants of that time ate a variety of cereal dishes. In addition, some of the most popular foods were leaf beets, spices and herbs, capers, East Indian cloves, and some medicinal plants, and the main indication that the food was cooked on a fire that was fired with peat was revealed.
Deforce in 2010 was engaged in a similar study, but on the territory of Bruges, where the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy is located.
You can also learn more about the nutrition of the Middle Ages in the following video:
