The toilet is a U-shaped line of seats that 13 actors could use at the same time.
In Turkey, archaeologists have discovered an ancient latrine that allowed at least a dozen people not only to do their job, but also to talk, according to dailymail.co.uk
Scientists found the remains of an ancient toilet in the ruins of a theater, which is more than 2 thousand years old, in the ancient city of Smyrna, which is now in Izmir, the third most populous city in Turkey.
One toilet for all
“This is a U-seating toilet that could be used by 12-13 people together,” says Akin Ersoy of Izmir State University. “Such a large latrine also contributed to the socialization of the people here.”
Such public toilets were fairly common in antiquity, but according to scholars, this is the first place that was exclusively reserved for theater performers.
“We believe that only performers in the theater could use this toilet, because this part of the building was closed to the audience,” says Ersoy. “This is the first time we have discovered this type of toilet among all the ruins of ancient theaters in the Mediterranean region. There are public toilets next to other theaters, but this is the first one located inside and dedicated to artists.”
What is a toilet?
According to scientists, the ancient toilet was a wooden U-shaped bench, which was at a height of 40 cm, there were holes in it, located at a distance of about 60 cm from each other, and this allowed the artists to be close enough. In front of the seat was a ten-centimeter gutter through which clear water flowed. After using the restroom, people performed hygiene procedures using a sponge on a stick and water. Archaeologists even built a replica of a wooden bench to support their theory of the design.
Theater for 20 thousand people
The theater, which could accommodate 20,000 spectators, was built in the 2nd century BC, when Smyrna was under the rule of the Roman Republic. According to scientists, the toilet was built during a major renovation after about 400 years. The theater itself worked until the end of the 5th century AD.
In the city of Smyrna, which was founded over 2,400 years ago, many archaeological discoveries have been made in recent years. Archaeologists have been excavating here for 5 years. In March, Ersoy and his colleagues announced that they had discovered a quarry used by both the ancient Greeks and the Romans.
Photo: dailymail.co.uk | A toilet for artists in a 2000-year-old theater.
