The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘accelerate action’ and emphasises the importance of taking decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.

With this in mind, two of our staff, Isobel Johnson-Moss, an Archaeological Assistant who works in both the field and in archiving, and Dr Rachel Small, our resident Environmental Officer, have come together to write about a subject they are both passionate about and interested in – menstruation; how to break down modern barriers regarding its discussion and create a more supportive environment, its history, and how to investigate the subject in the archaeological record.

We were discussing International Women’s Day and the ways we could use our voices to highlight an important issue. We thought through many topics including sexism, stigmas, unconscious bias, lack of equal opportunities, pregnancy, menopause…but we decided to focus on menstruation.

This affects us both greatly, as we suffer with bad pain, heavy flow and intense PMS, as do many others. Whilst periods do not just affect cis-women, we thought we would discuss this topic here as a microcosm of the subject of feminist archaeology.

Strides are being made to de-stigmatise menstruation in current culture. For example, using red liquid instead of blue in sanitary towel adverts (BBC 2017). There is no longer a ‘luxury’ tax on buying period products (Oppenheim 2021). There is also an expansion in the choice of products which can be used whilst bleeding such as cups, period pants, and sustainably sourced products (Santi 2025). 

In archaeology, both academic and commercial, there have also been changes. Period packs are now being supplied as part of welfare on site through the ‘Seeing RED’ project; this was created by Amy Talbot and Mentoring Womxn in Archaeology and Heritage (Council for British Archaeology 2021), and is promoted by CIfA (2025). Our workplace, alongside several others, also has a ‘Menstruation to Menopause – Hormone Health Policy’ to support staff. Moreover, there is a greater appreciation and understanding of how menstruation can affect work between colleagues as well as management. In fact, did you know that you are more likely to be injured in the days leading up to your period? (Gornall 2024).

Periods are still and will continue to be difficult and challenging for some, and society still has a long way to go to fully normalise the subject and accommodate needs.  This got us thinking about how life was affected by menstruation in the past and how this could potentially be investigated and interpreted in the archaeological record.

Past attitudes

Firstly, it is worth considering that regularity in menstrual cycles may have been more variable in the past, with malnourishment, disease and other stresses more common, and that this will have had an impact on how they were perceived. While a wide range of attitudes is sure to have existed, the prevailing narrative provided by historical sources is negative and has changed depressingly little throughout history.

In Ancient Egypt, communities feared that a menstruating woman would endanger the wellbeing of her kin if they were in close proximity, placing the emphasis on their blood as dangerous (Frandsen 2007, 81). In Ancient Greece, Aristotle thought that menstrual blood indicated that women’s souls had less energy due to the speed at which it left their bodies (Hiltmann 2005, 28). There were also those who followed the teaching of Hippocrates and Galen in Ancient Greece and Rome, who regarded the condition of menses as performing a vital cleansing function within the reproductive-age female body (see below; Arata 2005; Miller 2024, 28).

Since the 13th century in England the colloquial expression used to refer to periods was ‘her flowers’ a symbol of youth and beauty (Green 2005, 51). However, this was often juxtaposed with the widely held belief, throughout medieval Europe, that periods were contaminating. Indeed, within the medieval treatise Secreta Mulierum (Secrets of Women) there are many negative passages about menstruation with one stating that ‘unclean matter’ from menstrual blood seeps out through the sweat holes in women’s eyes and this affects the air around them with polluted matter and infects their husbands and children (Bildhauer 2005, 71).

Attitudes did not improve in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Indeed, undesirable or ‘unfeminine’ behaviour such as being assertive or aggressive was often attributed to menstruation, as in folklore it was seen as something mysterious or primitive (Strange 2005, 109). Periods were also viewed as an illness of femininity closely related to poor mental health, and in asylums close attention was paid to their regularity and flow which was used to weave narratives of their recovery and deterioration (Strange 2005, 107).

Humoral theory

In Europe, from around the 5th century BC to AD 1850, medical understanding was based on the theory of four humors governing the body – blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile (Albala 2002; Bhikha and Glynn 2017). The general principle was that good health came from a balanced mixture of the humors, whilst ill health came from imbalance and separation (Hippocrates and Heracleitus 1931). The humors were linked to, and affected by, natural phenomena including the four elements and qualities (hot, dry, cold, moist), and a person’s age and sex. Also, the ‘six-non naturals’ – diet, exercise, sleep, evacuations, emotional state and environment (Albala 2002).

Men were seen as naturally hotter and drier than women, who were seen to be cold and moist. Menstruation was explained as the need for a woman to expel poisonous humors, which could not be absorbed and burned into her body because her humor was too cold (Aughterson 2005, 42). Women’s illnesses were nearly all ascribed to disturbances in her menstrual and humoral cycles (Ibid., 48)

Humoral theory was key to how a person understood their body during this time, and much detail was provided in medical texts on how to bring about periods, and how to deal with excessive bleeding (Read 2013, 98). Diet and health were inextricably linked; plants and animals had their own qualities, and if correctly digested and assimilated, had the potential to be converted into humors and alter an individual’s state. Therefore, many of the solutions provided included herbal remedies (e.g., Gerard’s Herbal 1633).

How can we consider menstruation in archaeology?

The main issue when it comes to looking for periods archaeologically, is that the evidence is sparse as certain ways people deal with their periods rarely survive in the ground. Methods to investigate the presence of blood residues have been proposed but so far have proved inconclusive (Moffat and Fulton 1988). However, day-to-day archaeological finds can be looked at in a different way to include discussions on menstrual health.

Ethnographic studies of menstrual huts, where a woman would retreat into isolation and seclusion whilst on her period, are well documented. They were usually at a distance from their family home and were just large enough for a person to lie in all day and were often ephemeral, being shallowly excavated and made using brush or grass, and in many cases were set fire to after use. A case study from a site in Pend Oreille Valley in north-west Washington in 2019, found a small, 3m diameter structure closely resembling these menstrual huts and with the added evidence of burning. With no hearth present, it was strongly suggested that this could be a menstrual hut dating to the Late Archaic period. In terms of prehistoric archaeological remains in England, it may be good to bear this in mind when interpreting small outhouses that seem to have no relation to settlements, instead of seeing them as an oddity.

As mentioned above, a valuable source for Roman, medieval and post-medieval England is medical texts, including regimens and herbals, that detail how menstruation was understood and advise on how to deal with difficulties. From c.1500, a renewed interest in the writings of classical authors, the rising popularity of vernacular texts, and the invention of the printing press in the Renaissance, led to a proliferation of accessible medical literature for a broader audience in England (Taavitsainen et al. 2011). Appropriate contemporary sources and views should be used/kept in mind when interpreting an archaeological assemblage.

A Leicester case study

We thought it would be interesting to provide a case study using this background to re-consider past interpretations of a feature from one of ULAS’s previous excavations; this is particularly poignant this year as we are looking back at our company’s 30-year history. We chose the excavations undertaken in advance of the construction of the PACE and Hugh Aston Buildings at De Montfort University, carried out by ULAS from 2006-2008 (Morris 2010).

In 2007, the site revealed a particularly interesting post-medieval cesspit dating from AD 1500-1650. It included decayed strips of linen and wooden fragments throughout the fill. The wood was interpreted as either a collapsed structure or lining, whilst the linen was regarded as either toilet paper or waste material from the cloth trade as there were tailors present in the suburb at the time. Mineralised plant remains were recovered as well as rubbish in the form of pots, bones, and several copper artefacts including dress pins.

Thinking about these finds with our new framework, the linen recovered from this cesspit may be what was called ‘clouts’ or ‘rags’ in the early modern period and had been in use for millennia. These were usually made from old cloth, often linen, cut to size, sometimes hemmed, and then given a variety of uses around the home including as dishcloths, bandages and for sanitary purposes such as for wiping after using the toilet (Read 2013, 106), and is also often proposed by historians as an absorbent for menstrual blood. It has also been noted that linen in particular was the chosen material for medicinal and sanitary uses because of the belief clean linen could draw off moisture from the body (Ibid.). In fact, there is evidence for Queen Elizabeth I of England owning three black silk girdles to keep her linen sanitary towels, or ‘vallopes of Holland cloth’, held in the right place (Jenner 2016). These clouts, when used by everyday common people, are thought to have been held in place by pins and pins were also recovered from the fill of this cesspit.

The mineralised plant remains included fruit stones and seeds classed as ‘weeds’. Sloe stones were found, and whilst they are often recovered from cesspits within the city and therefore would have doubtless formed part of regular diet, they also were prized for their medicinal applications. For example, the juice of sloes was seen as very effective for helping with heavy periods (Gerard 1633, 1499). Many plants we consider as ‘weeds’ today were used in the past for their medicinal benefits and for flavouring foods. Ribwort plantain, which was found in the cesspit, is a common seed of grassland, but was also used to help with ‘issues of the blood’ (Gerard 1633, 421-422).

Whilst the evidence is not definitive, these interpretations should be considered alongside the traditional narratives.

Final thoughts

Through this conversation, we have opened our eyes to the possibilities of exploring menstruation in the past, and in general trying not to overlook the seemingly mundane and taboo parts of life in archaeology. Menstruation is a big part of many people’s lives now, and it has been throughout history, and will be in the future. We only hope that discussions like this continue to help to raise awareness and destigmatise menstruation further.

References

Albala, K. (2002) Eating Right in the Renaissance. California Studies in Food and Culture. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Arata, L. (2005) ‘Menses in Corpus Hippocraticum’, in Shail, A. and Howie, G. (eds.), Menstruation: A Cultural History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 13-25.

Aughterson, K. (2005) Renaissance Woman: A Sourcebook. Constructions of Femininity in England. New York: Taylor and Francis (Ebook).

BBC (2017) Bodyform Advert Replaces Blue Liquid with Red ‘Blood’. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-1666280#:~:text=Bodyform%20has%20become%20the%20first,bike%20riding%2C%20boxing%20and%20runnin (accessed 07.03.2024).

Bhikha, R. and Glynn, J. (2017) ‘The theory of humours revisited ‘, International Journal of Development Research, 7(9), pp. 15029-15034.

Bildhauer, B. (2005) ‘The Secrets of Women (c. 1300): A Medieval Perspective on Menstruation’, in Shail, A. and Howie, G. (eds.) Menstruation: A Cultural History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 65-76.

Carney, M., d’Alpoim Guedes, J., Lyons, K. J. and Elgar, M. G. (2019) ‘Gendered places and depositional histories: reconstructing a menstrual lodge in the interior Northwest’, American Antiquity, [Online] 84 (3), pp. 400–419.

CIfA. (2025) Wellbeing at Work. Available at: https://www.archaeologists.net/work/practice/wellbeing (accessed 07.03.2025).

Council for British Archaeology. (2021) Seeing Red: Introduction to Seeing Red and the Basics of Better Welfare Facilities onsite. Uploaded Jul 23 2021. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW7HNUXaJdM (accessed 07/03/2025).

Frandsen, P. J. (2007) ‘The menstrual “taboo” in Ancient Egypt’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, [Online], 66 (2), pp.81–106.

Gerard, J. (1633) The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. Gathered by Iohn Gerarde of London Master in Chirurgerie Very Much Enlarged and Amended by Thomas Iohnson Citizen and Apothecarye of London. London: Adam Islip, Ioice Norton and Richard Whitakers.

Gornall, K. (2024) Study Suggests Injury Risk Varies in Menstrual Cycle. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/ck5k9l8z13wo (accessed 07.03.2025).

Green, M. H. (2005) ‘Flowers, poisons and men: menstruation in medieval Western Europe’, in Shail., A. and Howie, G. (eds.) Menstruation: A Cultural History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 51-65.

Hiltmann, G. (2005) ‘Menstruation in Aristotle’s Concept of the Person’, in Shail, A. and Howie, G. (eds.) Menstruation: A Cultural History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 25-38.

Hindson, B. (2009) ‘Attitudes towards menstruation and menstrual blood in Elizabethan England’, Journal of Social History, [Online] 43 (1), pp. 89–114.

Hippocrates and Heracleitus. (1931) Nature of Man. Regimen in Health. Humours. Aphorisms. Regimen 1-3. Dreams. Heracleitus: On the Universe. Translated by W. H. S. Jones. Loeb Classical Library 150. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Jenner, G. (2016) How Did Women Deal with their Periods? The History of Menstruation. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/greg-jenner/history-of-menstruation_b_8899314.html (accessed 07/03/2025).

Miller, K. (2024) ‘Intentional menstrual suppression in Imperial Rome, Journal of Roman Studies, 114, pp. 27-59. doi:10.1017/S0075435824000297

Moffat, B. and Fulton, J. (eds.) (1988) SHARP Practice 2. The Second Report on Researches into the Medieval Hospital at Soutra, Lothian Region, Scotland. Edinburgh: Soutra Hospital Archaeoethnopharmacological Research Project.

Morris, M. (2010) Life in the Suburbs: The Archaeological Excavation of Iron Age to Post-medieval occupation beneath the PACE and Hugh Aston Buildings, De Montfort University, Leicester (2006-2008). ULAS Report No. 2010-134.

Oppenheim, N. (2021) ‘We are Ending a Sexist Policy’: Period Products no Longer Classes as ‘Luxury, Non-essential Item’. Available at:  https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tampon-tax-period-products-b1867922.html (accessed 07.03.2025).

Read, S. (2013) Menstruation and the Female Body in Early Modern England. Genders and Sexualities in History. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Santi, A. (2025) Pads, Pants or Cups: Which Period Product is most Climate Friendly? Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250305-what-is-the-most-sustainable-period-product (accessed 07.03.2025).

Strange, J. M. (2005) ‘ ‘I believe it to be a case depending on menstruation’: madness and menstrual taboo in British medical practise, c. 1840-1930’, in Shail, A. and Howie, G. (eds.) Menstruation: A Cultural History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 102-117.

Taavitsainen, I., Jones, P. M., Pahta, P., Hiltunen, T., Marttila, V., Ratia, M., Suhr, C. and Tyrkkö, J., (2011) ‘Medical texts in 1500-1700 and the corpus of Early Modern English Medical Texts’, in Taavitsainen, I. and Pahta, P. (eds.), Medical Writing in Early Modern English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 9-29.