2700 year-old private toilet in Israel shows parasite infection

[guy]

Intestinal parasite eggs recovered from sediment collected below the stone toilet seat at Armon Hanatziv. (a). Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm); (b). Ascaris lumbricoides; (roundworm); (c). Trichuris suis (whipworm); (d). Trichuris trichiura. (whipworm) Eitan Kremer/Tel Avvi University)
 

Similar to previous posts, this article demonstrates how new techniques can shed insight on daily life, including health, in the ancient world. This article shows how archaeoparasitology, through the use of microscopic remains and possible DNA studies, can be a useful tool in the investigation of toilet samples in the study of ancient health and disease.

Quote

“Sediment samples swiped from 2,700-year-old privy reveal the presence of intestinal worm eggs that would have caused abdominal pain, diarrhea and itching”
 
“Worm eggs, identified in sediment samples taken from a cesspit below the stone toilet, belonged to four different types of intestinal parasites: roundworm, tapeworm, whipworm, and pinworm”

“The eggs were found below the stone toilet in the garden of “a magnificent private estate” uncovered at the Armon Hanatziv Promenade in Jerusalem from where it would have enjoyed a panoramic view of the City of David and the Temple Mount during what was the middle of the First Temple period.“

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-toilet-shows-jerusalems-rich-wallowed-in-luxury-and-discomfort/

Edited January 4, 2022 by guy

[guy]

           
 

A little more information on the find:

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Adjacent to the mansion was a spectacular garden with a breathtaking view of the City of David and the Temple Mount. It was here, along with the remains of fruit and ornamental trees, that the cesspit sampled by Langgut was found. It was capped by a square limestone installation with a hole in its center, identified as a toilet's drop hole. 
 

Dr. Langgut believes that intestinal disease at the time might have been due to poor sanitary conditions that caused fecal contamination of food and drinking water. Or, it might have been due to a lack of hygiene awareness, such as a failure to wash hands. Other possible sources of infection were the use of human feces to fertilize field crops and the consumption of improperly cooked beef or pork. In the absence of medicine, recovery from intestinal worms was difficult to impossible, and those infected could suffer from the parasites for the rest of their lives. Therefore, it is quite possible that the findings of the study indicate a bothersome and long-lasting infectious disease (comparable to lice and pinworms in the kindergartens of today) that affected the entire population.

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-toilet-temple-period-luxury-villa.html

Edited January 6, 2022 by guy

[Novosedoff]

5 hours ago, guy said:

consumption of improperly cooked beef or pork.

Matthew 8:28-34 and Mark 5:11-13 seem a bit of irony because 1) Jews didn't breed pigs (unclean animal) and didn't eat pork, only the Greek colonizers could do both, 2) wild pigs would never come out in large herds.

So can we say the Saviour was also likely to be subject to the same issue with parasites? Could he force the parasites out of the herd?

Edited January 6, 2022 by Novosedoff

[guy]

Here is the scientific article concerning the discovery:
 

“Materials

Fifteen sediment samples were collected from the cesspit below a stone toilet seat found at the site of Armon Hanatziv, southern Jerusalem. The toilet installation was located in a garden adjacent to a monumental structure with extraordinary architectural elements.

Methods

A light microscope was used to identify and measure the eggs.

Results

The presence of four intestinal parasite egg taxa was detected: Trichuris trichiura (whipworm), Taenia sp. (beef/pork tapeworm), Ascaris lumbricoides(roundworm), and Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm). This is the earliest appearance of roundworm and pinworm in the ancient Israel parasitological record.

Conclusions

Findings reveal that intestinal parasitic diseases most likely caused by poor sanitary conditions were a human problem in the Late Iron Age of Israel, affecting even high-status groups.”
 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879981721000838#bib35
 

“It is possible that as early as the 7th century BC, human feces were collected systematically from the city of Jerusalem in order to fertilize crops grown in the nearby fields. During the 7th century BC, when Judea was under Assyrian rule, the hinterlands of Jerusalem, especially to the west, shifted to specialized agriculture (versus mixed Mediterranean agriculture. 
 

Modern research has demonstrated that human fecal fertilizer increases crop yields However, unless the feces are composted for many months before being added to the fields, viable parasite eggs can spread to the plants grown. Hence, the use of human feces as crop fertilizer under the specialized Assyrian economy may have led to a growth in whipworm and roundworm. The almost total lack of sanitation technologies may also have been the primary trigger for parasite distribution in ancient Israel. The presence of tapeworm eggs attests to the consumption of poorly cooked, perhaps raw, beef or pork, the only meats that carry this parasite.”

 

Although the finding of pinworms and roundworms are not unique to Armon Hanatziv, they are the earliest dated findings:

 

A limited number of studies to detect the presence of abdominal parasites in an archaeological context have been executed in Israel. These studies identified whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) in most of the investigated sites: Jerusalem (7–6th century BC; Qumran (1st century BC – 1st century AD;  Nahal Mishmar (2nd century AD;  and Acre (13th century AD.

Roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) was identified in Acre as well as at Qumran. The beef/pork tapeworm Taenia sp. was found in the aforementioned assemblages from Jerusalem, Qumran, and Acre. Pinworm eggs of Enterobius vermicularis were also revealed at Qumran.”