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A fecal pellet was recovered in an ancient salt mine in Chehrabad located in western Iran (36.55° N, 47.51° E). Based on prior publications showing the success of the salt mine's environment to preserve various life forms, it was decided to try and ascertain whether this faex contained any parasites of paleoparasitologic interest. The rehydration involved placing the pellet in an aqueous solution of 0.5% trisodium phosphate for a week, followed by the examination of aliquots of the entire rehydrated sample on a total of 153 microscope slides. The examination of the rehydrated material revealed the presence of two larval nematodes; there were no eggs or oocysts recovered. The larvae were photographed and measured, and the decision was made not to submit the two larvae to grinding and DNA extraction for molecular diagnostics due to their excellent state of preservation. The larvae were identified as first-stage larvae that appear to represent the genus Muellerius. Herein are reported the finding of two first-stage larvae of Muellerius nematodes (Metastrongyloidea, Protostrongylidae) from the rehydrated fecal pellet collected in a Chehrabad salt mine from the era of the Sasanian Empire.

The large fortified hilltop site of Vladař, northwest Bohemia, Czech Republic (50°05′N, 13°13′E), has recently been studied intensively by way of environmental archaeology, in which palaeoecological methods have played a crucial role. The latter include the analyses of pollen, green algae, Cladocera, other microfossils, plant macro-remains (including charcoal and wood) and chemical composition, carried out on the wet sediments from an artificial cistern/pond situated in the middle of the large citadel, supplemented by charcoal and wood analysis on material from dry situations. The continuous palaeoecological record consists of well-preserved biological remains and covers the period from ca. 400 b.c. to recent times. The chronology is primarily based on radiocarbon dating, supplemented by archaeological finds. The main focus is on the La Tene period of the Iron Age. During the early to middle La Tene the hillfort had a considerable number of permanent inhabitants and woodland was almost completely replaced by an agricultural landscape. The site became partly abandoned by the end of the 3rd century b.c. and completely abandoned around the birth of Christ, after which it reverted to natural woodland communities.

For the first time in English, we present a summary of the international programme of excavation work carried out between 1990 and 2001 in and around the Iron Age salt-mining complex of the Diirrnberg region, south of Salzburg. First we describe the results of excavation in the prehistoric adits, and of work to locate and survey associated settlements. This is followed by a series of specialist reports embracing floral and faunal remains, palaeodiet and parasitology, leather and woodworking and other crafts. The evidence suggests that a complex inter-relationship existed between the Diirrnberg and other communities in the Alpine foreland. It is assumed that the Diirrnberg was under the control of an elite – perhaps a local dynasty whose wealth is reflected in the graves.

At the end of the 6th millennium B. C. Triticum monococcum (einkorn) and Triticum dicoccum (emmer) were the main cereals of the early Neolithic Bandkeramik culture in central Europe. New archaeobotanical investigations at relevant Bandkeramik sites reveal the regular occurrence of morphologically two-grained einkorn. Some preliminary thoughts on the state of research and the possible origin of two-grained einkorn forms are presented here.