Paleoparasitological Findings from Rodent Coprolites Dated At 500 CE Sassanid Era in Archeological Site of Chehrabad (Dou¬zlakh), Salt Mine Northwestern Iran

In this paper, paleoparasitological findings from rodent excrements ob­tained from Chehrabad Salt Mine archeological site located in northwest of Iran are demonstrated and discussed. Chehrabad Salt Mine archeological site located in northwest of Iran, dated to the Achaemenid (mid 1st mill. BCE) and to Sassanid (3rd cent. - 7th cent. CE) period, is a unique study area to investigate parasites in the past millenniums in Iran. Rodent copro­lites obtained from this archeological site were thoroughly analyzed for parasite eggs using TSP re-hydration technique. Specimen analyzed were attributed to juvenile and adult rats based on their apparent morphology comparing with the modern dried pellets of Muridea family. Hel­minth eggs retrieved from two positive pellets were identified as Trichosomoides crassi­cauda, Syphacia sp. and Trichuris sp. The present paper discusses the first paleoparasitological findings of rodent gastrointestinal helminthes in Iran along with possible favorite items to rats in ancient Chehrabad Salt Mine.