17 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

In Jerusalem, a 2700-year-old private toilet from the First Temple era was unearthed

The Israel Antiquities Authority discovered a private toilet from the First Temple Period on the Armon Hanatziv promenade in Jerusalem, which was part of an old royal estate that functioned at the conclusion of the Kings of Judean period (7th century BCE).

The bathroom was built in the shape of a rectangular hut, complete with a carved toilet and a deep-hewn septic tank. The limestone toilet has a hole in the center and is intended for comfortable sitting.

According to Yaakov Billig, Director of the Excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “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. 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.”

“It is fascinating to see how something that is obvious to us today, such as toilets, was a luxury item during the reign of the kings of Judah,” said Eli Eskosido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Yaakov Billig next to the toilet discovery. (Yoli Schwartz/IAA)
Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Yaakov Billig next to the toilet discovery. Photo: Yoli Schwartz/IAA

According to the antiquities authorities, animal bones and pottery discovered in the septic tank might offer insight into the lifestyle and nutrition of people living at the time, as well as old illnesses.

Archeologists working at the excavation site have discovered stone capitals that formerly stood atop columns, as well as tiny architectural columns that once acted as window railings.

Evidence of a garden with fruit trees and other flora that previously stood beside the toilet cubicle has also been unearthed, —more evidence that those living there were quite wealthy.

The Israel Antiquities Authority

Related Articles

In France, a burial with six ankle bracelets was uncovered

22 December 2022

22 December 2022

An individual bedecked in copper jewelry was discovered during the excavation of a protohistoric necropolis in Aubagne, southeastern France. The...

Amateur makes ‘Gold Find of the Century’ in Norway

7 September 2023

7 September 2023

A Norwegian 51-year-old Erlend Bore out walking on doctors’ advice unearthed rare 6th-century gold jewellery using a newly bought metal...

For the first time, researchers discovered bioarchaeological evidence of familial embalming in early modern France

16 November 2024

16 November 2024

A unique discovery has revealed new insights into the burial rituals of early modern Western Europe: For the first time,...

Where We Saw Sin, There Was Care: A Baby Buried in a Medieval Belgian Brothel

23 May 2025

23 May 2025

A medieval brothel in Belgium yields a discovery that forces historians to confront forgotten tenderness in places long seen only...

A cemetery belonging to 54 children was found during the excavation in the old quarry in Diyarbakır, Türkiye

4 January 2024

4 January 2024

During the archaeological excavation carried out in the area considered to be an old quarry in the Kulp district of...

Vikings arrived in Newfoundland 1,000 years ago: Scientists

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

Vikings’ first permanent settlement in North America – the coastal outpost in Newfoundland known as L’Anse aux Meadows now has...

Ancient Egyptian silos and administrative buildings uncovered at Kom Ombo in Egypt’s Aswan

6 March 2022

6 March 2022

The Egyptian-Austrian archaeological mission working in the Temple of Kom Ombo in Egypt’s southern province of Aswan unearthed an administrative...

Egyptian archaeologists discovered 16 meters long ancient papyrus with spells from the Book of the Dead

19 January 2023

19 January 2023

Archaeologists working in Egypt’s Saqqara region have unearthed a 16-meter-long ancient papyrus for the first time in a century. Saqqara...

Mysterious and Life-size camel carvings have been found in Saudi Arabian desert

4 October 2023

4 October 2023

Archaeologists have found life-size camel carvings on a rock near the southern border of Saudi Arabia’s Nafud desert. The Neolithic...

Remains of ‘female vampire’ found with sickle across her neck and a padlocked toe in Poland

2 September 2022

2 September 2022

A skeleton of what archaeologists believe may have been a 17th-century female vampire has been discovered near Bydgoszcz in Poland....

Unique finds unearthed in the ancient city of Olba in southern Türkiye

16 August 2023

16 August 2023

In the excavations carried out in the ancient city of Olba, located in the Silifke district of Mersin, in the...

Earliest glass workshop north of the Alps unearthed in Němčice

25 July 2023

25 July 2023

Archaeologists excavated the famous Iron Age site Němčice and uncovered the earliest glass workshop north of the Alps. Numerous beautiful...

Iron Age stone altar and gold-plated ceremonial sword discovered in Kazakhstan

14 August 2021

14 August 2021

A stone altar and a gold-plated ceremonial sword used in the early Iron Age were discovered during excavations along the...

Ancient Tomb of Nomadic Horse Lord Yields Untouched Treasures and Weapons

2 May 2025

2 May 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery near Grozny has unearthed an undisturbed Alanian tomb dating back over two millennia, revealing a wealth...

Mass graves of Crusaders killed in the 13th century have been discovered in Lebanon

17 September 2021

17 September 2021

From 1096 to 1291, waves of Europeans took up arms and marched into the Middle East. They hope to “take...