Malaria is a disease of great antiquity.

Although currently absent in the Netherlands, written records indicate that the disease was endemic there from the 17th to the mid-20th century, mainly in the coastal regions.

While it is likely that malaria was present in the medieval period as well, the paucity of historical information in this period means that the disease is only rarely included in discussions on medieval health, leaving us with an incomplete understanding of the well-being of past societies.

This study has aimed to fill this gap by taking a multidisciplinary approach in which a total of 2100 medieval individuals from 26 archaeological sites in the Netherlands have been subjected to a skeletal analysis focusing on cribra orbitalia, as this lesion may be considered indicative of anaemia, one of the key symptoms of malaria. Additionally, several biomolecular methods have been applied to directly diagnose malaria in skeletal remains.

This talk will detail the history of malaria in the Netherlands and present the first results of this new bioarchaeological study. In doing so, it provides a deep-history perspective of this global disease which in light of changing climatic conditions is both essential and timely.

Attendees can join in-person or on Zoom.