(Photo By: Yoli Schwartz/IAA)
By: Rossella Tercatin - October 5, 2021
A private toilet dating back to some 2,700-years was uncovered in a luxurious palace in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.
"A private toilet cubicle was very rare in antiquity, and only a few were found to date, most of them in the City of David,” said archaeologist Yaakov Billig, director of the excavation on behalf of the IAA. “In fact, only the rich could afford toilets. A thousand years later, the Mishnah and the Talmud raised various criteria that defined a rich person, and Rabbi Yossi suggested that to be rich is ‘to have the toilet next to his table’.”
The cubicle was hewn in the stone. The toilet seat, with a hole in the center, was designed to be very comfortable. Under a toilet, a tank stood, where remains of pottery, animal bones and human waste were collected. Experts hope that they will offer insights on dietary habits during the First Temple Period.
Read More: Jerusalem Post