Jerusalem holds layers and layers of history. Building a new tourist complex means the area must be excavated lest important artifacts be destroyed. An excavation in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood recently unearthed a rare private toilet dated to the time of the First Temple, around 2,700 years ago. In an age when most people were lucky to have access to a public outhouse, the single stone slab with a hole is a sign of great wealth.
Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Yaakov Billig said, "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 recovered toilet had a septic tank underneath, which will be studied to determine the diet of the people who used it. Other nearby artifacts also indicate that whoever lived in this plot was quite wealthy. Read more about the find at The Times of Israel.
(Image credit: Yoli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority)
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