The Iron Age users of two ancient toilets in Jerusalem were not a healthy bunch, according to an analysis of poop samples from the 2,500-year-old latrines
Researchers found traces of dysentery-causing parasites in material excavated from the cesspits below the two stone toilets that would have belonged to elite households in the city. Back then, Jerusalem was a vibrant political and religious center in the Assyrian empire and home to between 8,000 and 25,000 people.
It likely dates from the days of King Manasseh, who ruled for 50 years in the mid-seventh century BC. Made of limestone, the toilet has a large central hole for defecating and an adjacent hole likely for male urination. The other toilet seat studied, similar in design, was excavated in the Old City of Jerusalem at a seven-room building known as the House of Ahiel, which would have been home to an upper-class family at the time.
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