Archaeologists find 2,700-year-old toilet in luxurious palace in Jerusalem

• Published date: 05 October 2021
• Author: ROSSELLA TERCATIN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Whoever the residents of the beautiful structures uncovered by the archaeologists in the neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv were, they enjoyed a unique privilege: a luxurious private toilet.

The facility was recently discovered in an excavation by the Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the City of David, which opened prior to the construction of a new tourist complex on the promenade, the IAA revealed on Tuesday.

cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });

>

"At the time, a private toilet in a house was extremely rare," said archaeologist Yaakov Billig, director of the excavation on behalf of the IAA. "Most people were just forced to find someplace private to relieve themselves. Around 1,000 years later, a group of rabbis in the Talmud discuss who is to be considered rich. Different rabbis suggest different answers, and one of them, Rabbi Yossi, says, 'One who has a toilet next to his table'."

According to Billig, only a handful of toilet remains from the First Temple Period have been found in Israel.

"In many cases, they were not complete toilets, but just toilet seats," he said.

In the palace of Armon Hanatziv, the cubicle was a rectangular cabin hewn in stone. The toilet seat, with a hole in the center, was designed to be very comfortable. Under the toilet, a tank stood, where remains of pottery, animal bones and soils were collected.

"At the time, such pits were also used as garbage cans," Billig noted. "The vast majority of the vessels found were bowls. It could be that they were some kind of disposable dishes, but also that they were used as containers for aromatic oil and were put in the toilet to improve the smell. We hope that some further analysis on the residues will provide answers."

In addition, the bones will offer information on dietary habits, while the examination of the soil could shed light on parasites and diseases among ancient Judeans.

...