MURINE CERAMIC REPRESENTATIONS IN ANCIENT SICILY (CONTRADA SANTA ANASTASIA DI RANDAZZO, 5th CENTURY BC): A POTENTIAL REFERENCE TO PAST INFECTIOUS DISEASES?

In this article we present a set of murine vascular representations from contrada Santa Anastasia (Randazzo, Sicily), dated to the 5th century BC. We offer a full archaeological contextualisation for these items, and we discuss a potential link with the role of epidemics in the past through a combination of historico-medical, palaeopathological and infectivological arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]