An ancient toilet was recently discovered in Jerusalem, and findings have shown that the 2,700-year-old find still showed some signs of infection a long time ago.
Specifically, a ScienceAlert report specified that the thousands of years old drop toilet discovered in an ancient royal estate located in southern Jerusalem still exhibits traces of what was believed to be an epidemic of parasitic contagion ages ago.
The findings suggest even ancient Jerusalem's richest inhabitants, elite enough to utilize, typically suffered from intestinal worms.
Whereas latrines and toilets are regarded as basic sanitation facilities at present, that might not have been their role thousands of years back.
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This picture was taken on April 12, 2019, shows an interior view of the latrines of the Domus Transitoria, Roman Emperor Nero's first palace, destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. - The Domus Transitoria was replaced by his Domus Aurea (or Golden House).
The Toilet, a 'Symbol of Wealth'
In the study published in the International Journal of Paleopathology, the archeologists suggested that the indoor toilets' presence may have been more "a matter of convenience" compared to an attempt to enhance personal hygiene.
Also, in their report, the archeologists wrote, a toilet was a "symbol of wealth," a secluded installation that only rich people could have afforded.
Essentially, Mesopotamia hosts the world's oldest known toilet, approximately 6,000 years old. More so, the historical site, which covered portions of modern-day Kuwait, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran, is identified as "the cradle of civilization" since it is home to some of the original farmlands.
As hunter-gatherers started settling down into bigger cities and towns, a designated site to poop was a must. Meanwhile, for the average farmer, perhaps, this meant entering a waste pit, although, in some unusual circumstances, rich people got more privacy.
A 'Basic Drop Toilet'
Based on archeological documentation, private latrines stayed an extravagance for many thousands of years. Specifically, the limestone loo in Jerusalem is among the few discovered.
It was found in 2019, snuggled in what seems to have been a carefully tended garden, located right beside the remnants of a huge mansion with expensive objects inside it. Perhaps, it was owned by someone who had a great social standing.
The hole in the center seat's center hints this was a "basic drop toilet that had just a single tank to catch excretion, although the view was something else.
From here, the research showed, a squatter might have been able to see and observe the City of David and the Temple Mount.
Intestinal Parasites
Archeologists have assumed that stone walls previously bordered the toilet seat. Perhaps, a roof, regardless of the presence of airborne pollen coming from pine and fruit trees, proposes there were possible windows or no roofs. It could be that the plants were also used as a type of air freshener.
Nevertheless, a nice and tiny lavatory might have smelled the presence of parasites, which proposes sanitary conditions at that era were poor.
Beneath the limestone, a toilet seat showed prehistoric sediment with eggs from four different intestinal worm types.
The eggs of roundworms or Ascaris lumbricoides in particular, as detailed in ScienceDirect, and whipworms or Trichuris trichiura was the most plentiful intestinal parasites in the area.
Parasites Capable of Producing Thousands of Eggs
Both such parasites can infect humans, resulting in malnutrition and damaged growth in the most severe conditions.
They are inclined to be spread when traces of human stool contain parasitic worms or their eggs are unintentionally consumed.
Once they're inside the intestine, such parasites can generate thousands of eggs each day in their human hosts.
They tend to be transmitted when traces of human stool containing parasitic worms or their eggs are accidentally ingested. Once inside the intestine, the parasites can produce thousands of eggs a day in their human hosts.
Report about the ancient toilet's discovery is shown on i24NEWS English's YouTube video below:
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