27 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

New research determines portable toilets of the ancient Roman world

New research published today reveals how archeologists can determine when a pot was used by Romans as a portable toilet, known as a chamber pot.

In a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed a layer of crusty material formed on the inside of ceramic pots, found in a Roman villa from the 5th century in Sicily.

“Conical pots of this type have been recognized quite widely in the Roman Empire and in the absence of other evidence they have often been called storage jars. The discovery of many in or near public latrines had led to a suggestion that they might have been used as chamber pots, but until now proof has been lacking,” says Roger Wilson, a professor in UBC’s department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies who directs the Gerace archaeological project in Sicily where the pot was found.

The chamber pot as mended from fragments. Credit: R. J. A. Wilson.
The chamber pot is mended from fragments. Photo: R. J. A. Wilson.

Using microscopy to identify intestinal parasites, the team from the Ancient Parasites Laboratory identified 1,500-year-old from the eggs of whipworm, confirming that the vessel had once contained human feces.

Whipworms live on the lining of our intestines and lay eggs that become mixed with human feces. These would have been deposited in the chamber pot and eventually entombed in concretions created by the minerals found in urine and feces to the inner surface.

“We found that the parasite eggs became entrapped within the layers of minerals that formed on the pot surface, so preserving them for centuries,” said co-author Sophie Rabinow, of the Cambridge team.

Detail of the interior of the chamber pot, showing lime-scale concretions within it. Photo: R. J. A. Wilson.
Detail of the interior of the chamber pot, showing lime-scale concretions within it. İmaje: R. J. A. Wilson.

This is the first time that parasite eggs have been identified from concretions inside a Roman ceramic vessel and confirms the Gerace pot must have been used to contain human feces.

Although the measurements of the Gerace chamber pot (31.8 cm high with a diameter of 34cm at the rim) indicate it could have been used for sitting on, it was more than likely used in conjunction with a wickerwork or timber chair under which the chamber pot was set.

Piers Mitchell, the parasites expert who led the study in the laboratory, says: “This pot came from the baths complex of a Roman villa. It seems likely that those visiting the baths would have used this chamber pot when they wanted to go to the toilet, as the baths lacked a built latrine of its own. Clearly, convenience was important to them.

The Gerace research project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, under a permit granted by Regione Siciliana.

To read the article.

University of British Columbia

Related Articles

Assyriologist solves archaeological mystery from 700 BC in Khorsabad, Iraq

7 May 2024

7 May 2024

A new interpretation of a set of temple symbols that have puzzled scholars for more than a century has been...

Unique Gold Artefacts of Thracian Horseman Found in Bulgaria

23 August 2024

23 August 2024

The Topolovgrad Municipality posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday that during excavations at the site of a Thracian warrior’s...

New Study reveals how England’s ‘White Queen’ worshipped a disembowelled saint at the Chapel of St Erasmus

5 December 2022

5 December 2022

A new study reveals the story of how England’s “White Queen”, Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, once worshipped at...

“Scythian golds” will be returned to Ukraine

15 November 2021

15 November 2021

The fate of the Scythian Golds, which were sent to be exhibited in the Allard Pierson Museum before the Russian...

The Oldest Odin Inscription in the World Found in the Vindelev treasure

8 March 2023

8 March 2023

Scientists have identified the earliest known inscription referring to the Norse god Odin on part of a gold disc unearthed...

The impressive Statue of young Hercules unearthed in Philippi, Northern Greece

24 September 2022

24 September 2022

A larger-than-life youthful Hercules statue dating to the 2nd century A.D. have been found in the ancient city of Philippi...

Archaeologists discover a 4,000-year-old ancient city in the Iraqi Dhi Qar region

20 July 2021

20 July 2021

An astonishing find was made by archaeologists in Iraq‘s Dhi Qar province, where an ancient settlement estimated to be 4,000...

1700 years ago the Korean peninsula had more genetic diversity than in our time, “Facial reconstruction possible through DNA analyses”

22 June 2022

22 June 2022

An international team led by The University of Vienna and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in collaboration...

Roman camp of 10,000 people discovered in northern Portugal

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

A camp used by 10,000 Roman soldiers sent to conquer northwestern Iberia has been discovered in the Portuguese city of...

A Decorated Block with Decapitated Gaul Found for the First Time in Toul, France

22 July 2024

22 July 2024

A Corinthian-style carved block that was once part of the entablature of a monumental Gallo-Roman public building has been discovered...

Philippines Cagayan Cave Art 3500 Years Old

29 June 2021

29 June 2021

A depiction depicting a human-like figure on a cave wall in Penablanca town, Cagayan province, is Southeast Asia’s first directly...

Derinkuyu: A Subterranean Marvel of Ancient Engineering with 18 Levels and Capacity for 20,000 Inhabitants

2 May 2025

2 May 2025

Beneath the sun-drenched plains of Cappadocia, where otherworldly “fairy chimney” rock formations pierce the sky, lies a secret world carved...

Crowned figure holding a 13th-century falcon found in Oslo

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

Archaeologist Ann-Ingeborg Floa Grindhaug discovered a three-inch-long figure carved from bone or antler amid the ruins of a fortified royal...

A rare 2,500-year-old shipwreck found off the Greek island of Kythera

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

A rare shipwreck from the ancient era was discovered during the maritime survey for the Crete-Peloponnese subsea link. The Independent...

Rare Ancient Bone Game found in Israel “Astragali”

18 August 2022

18 August 2022

Archaeologists have found a rare assemblage of animal knucklebones known as astragali used in ancient Greek games and divination in...