Parasites and diarrhoea plagued ancient Judeans
Ancient times were certainly not particularly good for many people - at least not when it came to their bowels. This is shown by studies of ancient latrines.
If you want to know more about the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in times gone by, it's best to rummage through the rubbish heaps and latrines of ancient or medieval times. The examination of two latrines from Judea that are around 2800 years old, for example, shows how much at least some of their users must have been plagued by unpleasant intestinal colonisers. This is reported by Piers Mitchell from the University of Cambridge and his team in "Parasitology" after studying the corresponding remains.
In addition to a whole range of remains of various worms, the team also found traces of Giardia duodenalis, a single-celled parasite that can cause extreme diarrhoea. "The fact that these parasites were found in the sediment of two Iron Age Jerusalem cesspools indicates that the diarrhoeal disease was endemic in the Kingdom of Judea," says Mitchell. Although an infection with the parasite is often mild, it can also have a severe chronic course. According to the scientist, evidence of the pathogen is the oldest known worldwide to date.
The contents of the toilets discovered during excavations in 2019 have already been analysed microscopically and revealed a whole zoo of parasites such as whipworms, roundworms, tapeworms and pinworms. However, as microorganisms such as Giardia are difficult to recognise in such old samples, Mitchell and co used antibodies to search for these intestinal parasites. "Unlike the eggs of other intestinal parasites, the protozoa that cause diarrhoea are unstable and very difficult to detect in old samples without the use of antibodies," says co-author Tianyi Wang. The corresponding tests were positive on several occasions.
This confirms what was noted in historical records. Ancient medical texts from Mesopotamia from the first and second millennia BC, for example, describe that the population of what is now the Near and Middle East was affected by diarrhoea. "If a person eats bread and drinks beer and his stomach reacts colicky, he has cramps and his bowels "flow", he has got 'Setu'," reads one text, for example.
At the time the toilets were used, Jerusalem had between 8,000 and 25,000 inhabitants. However, toilet seats, as shown in the picture, were only reserved for the wealthy upper class and were also unearthed in dwellings whose owners were demonstrably among the elite of the time. The toilet blocks had two holes, one for the small and one for the big business.
In the absence of knowledge about diarrhoeal diseases, a suitable sewage system and general hygiene rules, diarrhoeal pathogens could easily spread back then, for example via contaminated communal toilets, drinks or physical contact. "Diarrhoea was probably a common problem in the ancient cities of the Orient, driven by overcrowding, heat and flies, as well as the lack of water in summer," says Mitchell.
Spectrum of Science
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Cover image: © F. Vukasavovic (detail) Toilets already existed in ancient Judea, as this toilet seat shows. Nevertheless, the hygienic conditions were not the best
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