Researchers in Israel found that, despite living in luxury, the residents of a now-ancient glam villa in Jerusalem suffered from intestinal parasites.
They were filthy rich.
A recent, and gut-wrenching, study out of Israel has found that some of ancient Jerusalem’s wealthiest inhabitants suffered from a host of intestinal parasites due to a lack of hygiene and sanitary conditions.
The research, by Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority, focused on the remains of 2,700-year-old intestinal worm eggs found in the cesspit under the limestone toilet of a private villa, whose garden enjoyed views of the City of David and Temple Mount.
The eggs belonged to roundworm, tapeworm, whipworm and pinworm — and even back then, they still came with their own gag-worthy effects.
“Intestinal worms are parasites that cause symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and itching,” lead researcher Dr. Dafna Langgut, of Tel Aviv University’s Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, said in a release announcing the gross excrement excavation. “Some of them are especially dangerous for children and can lead to malnutrition, developmental delays, nervous system damage, and, in extreme cases, even death.”
The research was published in the International Journal of Paleopathology, and shows that at a time before conscious hygiene and the marvels of modern medicine, the wealthy still had it quite bad. With no treatments available, it’s likely that these parasites caused lifelong disease, which impacted the entire population. (These parasites are still around, added Langgut, but medications prevent them from returning to epidemic status.)
Poor sanitary conditions — not to mention fecal contamination of food and drinking water — likely let the parasites spread, or maybe it was a lack of handwashing. Human feces also fertilized crops, and people in those times also ate improperly cooked meat.
What’s for certain is that, despite their ongoing symptoms, the inhabitants of this villa — uncovered at the Armon Hanatziv Promenade in Jerusalem — lived in lavish settings. For starters, the toilet — typified by a simple hole in the middle of the stone slab — stood in a proto-restroom.
