ÃÈÃÃÉçÇø

In 1998, excavations were conducted in advance of the construction of the Oude Vismarkt square in Aalst, Belgium. During excavations, archaeologists uncovered a 14th-century brothel. Unusual for the time, they also discovered the burial of a 3-month-old child within the floor.

Nearly two decades later, a study by Dr. Maxime Poulain and her colleagues, Céline Bon and Jessica Palmer, analyzed the remains of the infant child, including conducting an ancient DNA and stable isotope dietary analysis on the remains to determine the cause of death and potential reasoning for its interment in a brothel.

The research is in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.

Female prostitution was common in medieval Europe; however, the historical accounts of these institutions usually only mention the brothels themselves or those who ran them.

If the women who worked in them were mentioned, it would often be in the context of abortion or infanticide, with various sources pertaining to trials of prostitutes found guilty of infanticide.

Archaeologically assessing infanticide is difficult, partially because many of the methods used, such as smothering and drowning, leave no unambiguous traces. Additionally, even when an infant is found, determining if it belongs to a brothel context is equally challenging.

"[The] lack of clear material evidence for brothels remains a major obstacle to studying these establishments. Finds related to drinking or gaming are not exclusive to brothel environments and could, for example, also be found in taverns," explains Dr. Poulain.

"My analysis of material recovered from another medieval brothel in Douai (France) revealed only rather ordinary items, such as ceramics and hairpins, which are common finds in medieval excavations. Historical sources offer better insight into the material furnishings of such brothels. Previous research shows that these were often quite luxuriously equipped to attract the male clientele."

The two-room building excavated in 1998, however, can be positively identified as a brothel. Containing two key-hole shaped ovens (heated baths) and a hearth in the adjacent room used for firing, the building has been identified as the "Nederstove" from historical records.

A "stove" (Stew) was another name for a medieval bathhouse. In the medieval Low Countries, these often served a secondary role as a brothel. The Nederstove's secondary function as a brothel is further corroborated by a historical document that cites a policy of tolerance by the Aalst city authorities for the prostitution that went on in the stew establishments.

Additionally, another document mentions how a bathhouse in Aalst had 16 beds and provides the names of several women working in the stews.

Despite infanticide in brothel contexts usually being associated with infanticide, this child was three months old, while infanticide is typically associated with children directly after or a few days after birth. Thus, other potential reasons for its death were tested.

The stable isotope analysis revealed the child had been well-nourished before its death, likely having been regularly breastfed. Thus, starvation or malnourishment were ruled out as reasons for its death.

Meanwhile, an ancient DNA test revealed the child had been a male and had not died of any bacterial diseases, including the plague, leprosy, tuberculosis, or cholera.

However, infant mortality was high in the medieval ages (~30%), and viral infections could not be tested for. Additionally, males' immune responses are weaker than females, thus putting infant males who are already at a vulnerable stage of life at greater risk of death. It is thus possible that the child, despite being well cared for, died of an infection or disease.

This finding corroborates the idea that the mother and child likely shared a bond and the child's death was not the result of infanticide, as is often thought in the context of brothels and prostitution.

However, why was the child not buried in a cemetery?

Burial outside a cemetery in late-medieval Europe was incredibly rare, with only a small number of comparable cases known, explains Dr. Poulain, "Domestic infant burials are quite rare in the late Middle Ages, during which burial in the churchyard was the norm.

"In Belgium, this is the only such case I am aware of. Internationally, some parallels are known; for example, in France and the United Kingdom. However, here too, we're talking about a very limited number of finds, compared to the thousands of individuals recovered from regular cemetery excavations."

Some hypotheses were explored, including the child not being baptized. In order to be interred in a cemetery, baptism was a prerequisite. However, baptisms were usually performed a few days after birth. Additionally, in the absence of a priest and if the infant is likely to die, anyone, including a brothel-keeper, could perform a baptism; thus, a lack of baptism is unlikely to be the reason for not having been buried in a cemetery.

A second hypothesis was a lack of funds, as candles, bell ringing, the coffin, and the grave digging all carried a price. In the 16th century, even the cheapest burial would cost no less than six days' wages of an unskilled laborer. However, even in these situations, it is not unheard of that people would secretly bury their children in cemeteries.

Perhaps, the location of the burial near the hearth may reflect medieval beliefs about the afterlife. Medieval folklore contained numerous stories about souls lingering near hearths after death. By carefully burying the child by the hearth, the mother may have hoped to keep him warm and protected while also allowing his soul to linger near her in death.

This discovery challenges historical narratives that primarily associate children in brothels with abortion and infanticide. It is more likely that this child died of a disease.

"I am currently studying skeletal material associated with a red-light district in medieval Bruges to understand the prevalence of disease in this area compared to other city quarters ... In the future, we hope to return to the Aalst brothel site to investigate the environmental remains preserved in the loam floor levels, as these may hold many new and complementary insights into brothel life," says Dr. Poulain.

© 2025 Science X Network