The very first toilets in the world were inhabited by dangerous parasites

When our distant ancestors began to settle inin villages and towns, in addition to houses, they had to build toilets. The common people did not particularly bother and went “on business” under the bushes, but wealthy people had at their disposal specially designated places for this. Toilets with stone-like resemblances to modern toilets have been a luxury for thousands of years and archaeologists sometimes find them in very good condition. For example, one of these toilets was found in 2019 on the territory of Jerusalem - it was next to a mansion and, at one time, was clearly surrounded by a flowering garden with good-smelling plants. A visitor to this place had a view of the City of David, in which King David built a palace and founded the capital. Researchers recently examined an ancient toilet bowl and found out what diseases the rich of the past might have suffered from.

The photo shows an ancient toilet that looks very harsh.

What did the ancient toilets look like?

According to the scientific publication Science Alert, the mostthe world's oldest toilets were built about 6,000 years ago. One such ancient object is the toilet found in Jerusalem. It is a stone with a hole and, according to scientists, could once have been surrounded by stone walls. The researchers do not know whether it had a ceiling or not - the presence of pollen from fruit trees hints that the toilet was not protected from the sun and rain. But it is possible that people brought plants to the toilet in order to eliminate unpleasant odors.

This is all that remains of the ancient toilet

See also: What did people use before the invention of toilet paper?

Ancient infectious diseases

Perhaps the ancient toilet didn't smell so bad.Badly. But in terms of hygiene, everything was clearly in a terrible state - after a visit, a person could easily suffer from serious infections. This became known after taking samples of the limestone surface under the toilet seat, because they found traces of eggs from four different intestinal worms.

Archaeological site in Jerusalem

The most eggs of the roundworms of the speciesAscaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura. Infection with these parasites in severe cases can lead to loss of appetite and stunted growth. As a rule, they enter the human body when fecal particles enter the digestive system along with food. Once in the intestines, they produce thousands of eggs per day. This leads to an increase in the number of parasites that cause serious ailments. It is very difficult to get rid of the infections caused by these worms without drugs, and in ancient times, medicine was very poorly developed.

Human roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides

Traces were also found in the ancient toiletbovine tapeworm (Taenia saginata). They could enter human bodies through poorly cooked animal meat. From this we can conclude that thousands of years ago, rich people often suffered from teniarinchosis. With this disease, sexually mature individuals of the bovine tapeworm live in the upper part of the human small intestine. At the same time, a person often feels hungry, and in 98% of cases in the anus, he has a feeling of movement. It is provoked by the fact that fragments of the body of the tapeworm leave the human body, which subsequently enter other organisms.

Bovine tapeworm Taenia saginata

Finally, remains were found in an ancient toiletpinworms (Enterobius vermicularis). These parasites also infect the human body through dirty hands, food and water. These roundworms cause enterobiasis in humans, in which a person does not really feel anything. But when female pinworms begin to crawl out, a person begins to have severe itching in the anus. When combing the affected area, it spreads pinworm eggs through the environment, thanks to which these creatures find new victims. This disease is still common today, but the World Health Organization classifies it as a neglected disease.

Pinworms Enterobius vermicularis

Thanks to this discovery, scientists nowknow that the rich people of antiquity could often suffer from infectious diseases. But there is reason to believe that parasites pestered people before - their bodies are too soft, which is why they simply do not survive to this day. Of course, no one is safe from infection with these parasites today, but the availability of hygiene products and medicines reduce their danger.

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I agree that this is far from the most pleasant topic, but such discoveries are also very important for science. If you're interested, you can read about what the most luxurious toilets looked like 2,700 years ago.