A study by Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority reveals: Due to poor hygiene conditions, the wealthy of Jerusalem in the days of the First Temple suffered from infectious diseases

Remains of 2700-year-old intestinal parasite eggs were found in a septic tank under a toilet in the garden of Ahuzat Pe'er, which was exposed on the Commissioner's Palace promenade in Jerusalem. And developmental delay in children

A new study by Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority has found the remains of eggs (dead) of intestinal worms that are about 2,700 years old under a stone toilet, in a magnificent private mansion. Egg remnants belong to four different types of intestinal parasites: diarrhea, threadworm, whipworm, and pinworm. According to the researchers, the stone toilet was in the "comfort" room of the estate owners and the presence of the worms indicates that the wealthy residents of Jerusalem at that time also suffered from infectious diseases. The article was recently published in the International Journal of Paleopathology.

אסלת The 2700-year-old stone toilet. Photo - July Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority..  

The study was led by Dr. Daphne Langout. She is director of the Laboratory of Archaeobotnics and Ancient Surrounding Research at the Department of Archeology and the Steinhardt Museum of Nature at Tel Aviv University. As part of the study, Dr. Langot collected soil samples under the stone toilet, where the septic tank was previously located. She then isolated the parasite eggs in a process of chemical extraction in the laboratory, and finally identified the eggs under the microscope eye.

Dr. Langot: "The findings of this study are among the earliest observed so far in the Israeli space. These are extremely durable eggs, and under the special preservation conditions that prevailed in the septic tank, they survived for nearly 2,700 years. Intestinal worms are parasites that cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and itching. "Some of them are especially dangerous for children, and can cause malnutrition, developmental delay, damage to the nervous system and in extreme cases even mortality."

Dr. Daphne Langot, The Laboratory of Archaeobotnics and Ancient Surrounding Research. Photo: Sasha Fleet..

Pictures of parasitic intestinal worm eggs extracted from the archeological strata below the toilet seat, in the Commissioner's Palace. (A) pinworm (Enterobius vermicularis); (B). Whipworm (Trichuris trichiura); (third). Ascaris lumbricoides; (D). Threading (Taenia sp).

Dr. Langout believes that intestinal disease at the time was due to poor sanitation conditions. This caused fecal contamination in food and drinking water, or a lack of awareness of hygiene such as failure to wash hands. Other options for infection include using human feces to fertilize field crops and eating beef or pork Improperly cooked. In the absence of a cure, recovery from intestinal worms was difficult to impossible, and those infected could suffer from the parasites for the rest of their lives. The researcher points out that the same parasites still exist today. However, in the modern Western world we have effective diagnostic options and drugs, so it is not an epidemic.

החפירThe excavation at the Commissioner's Palace in Jerusalem. Photo - July Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority.

It should be noted that the remains of the eggs were discovered as part of a rescue excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority. This excavation was recently held on the Commissioner's Palace promenade in Jerusalem, funded by the City of David. Yaakov Bilig, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, explains that the royal estate that was uncovered dates to the middle of the 7th century BC (end of the Iron Age). According to Bilig, the site shows magnificent architectural items made of stone, decorated to a very high artistic level, such as decorated stone capitals (in the Proto-Aeolian style), in quantity and quality that had not yet been observed in Israel. Adjacent to the royal mansion was a magnificent garden, which faced the sublime view of the City of David and the Temple Mount. A variety of fruit and ornamental trees were found in the garden. In addition, there was a square limestone installation, with a hole in the center, which was identified as a toilet.

The toilet seat during the excavation at the Commissioner's Palace, 2019. Photographed by Yaakov Bilig, Israel Antiquities Authority..

For Dr. Langout, this was an opportunity to apply a field of research that she began to develop in her laboratory, called archeo-parasitology, aiming at anceint humans' lifestyle and sanitary condition.

Langot and Bilig are not surprised by the unveiling of a toilet in the garden of Ahuzat Peer: "Toilet facilities were rare at the time and were a status symbol - a luxury facility that only the rich and high-ranking could afford, as mentioned in the Mishnah (Jewish scriptures): "Rabbi Yossi says: All who have the toilet near his table " (Bavli Shabbat 25: 2).

According to Eli Escozido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority: "The studies of the Israel Antiquities Authority and our partners manage to touch on the smallest details of everyday life in antiquity; thanks to advanced equipment and fruitful collaboration with parallel research institutions, fascinating information is available." "Today, archeological research is reaching impressive heights, and a better understanding of lifestyles in the past - an understanding that seems to be only evolving."

Dr. Langot concludes: "Such studies help us to document the history of diseases and epidemics in our area and allow us a window into the lives of people in ancient times." On the diet and herbs that were used in Jerusalem at the end of the Iron Age.