In Jerusalem, traces of a debilitating disease were found in toilets that are more than 2,500 years old
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In Jerusalem, scientists examined cesspools that had been located under toilets for about 2,500 years and found traces of four types of intestinal parasites. The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Cambridge, CNN reports. 2.5 thousand years ago, Jerusalem was the political and religious center of the Assyrian Empire, where from eight to 25 thousand people lived. Scientists took samples from two cesspools in the houses of the ancient urban elite. Photo: CNN/F. Vukosavović The first sample was taken from a mansion that was excavated in 2019 in the Armon ha-Naziv area south of Jerusalem. The house features a limestone toilet with a large central opening for defecation and an adjacent opening, probably for male urination. Scientists took another sample from a seven-room house in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: CNN/Y. Billig In the sediment, four types of intestinal parasites were found – a solitaire, a pinworm, roundworm and a roundworm, which cause an acute infectious disease of the intestine – dysentery. “Dysentery is transmitted through faeces that contaminate drinking water and food. We suspect that in the ancient cities of the Middle East it may have been a major problem, which arose due to overcrowding, heat, the presence of flies and difficult access to water, especially in summer,” said the leading the author of the study is Piers Mitchell. According to him, at that time the cities were not built according to the plan, and there were no sewers in the houses. “There were no flush toilets yet, and humanity had no idea about microorganisms and how they spread. Toilets with septic tanks were in the region, but usually only for the urban elite,” the researcher added. Read also: How to protect yourself from intestinal infections in summer and war? Advice from the Ministry of Health
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