(ALL THAT’S INTERESTING) – Poop samples from two ancient toilets in Jerusalem revealed the earliest known evidence of a parasite that causes “traveler’s diarrhea,” according to a new study. The poop in question is 2,500 years old.
The infection, also known as dysentery, is often caused by a microscopic parasite called Giardia duodenalis. The end result is horribly bloody diarrhea, often accompanied by abdominal cramps and a fever.
The discovery was made by a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge, Tel Aviv University, and the Israel Antiquities Authority as part of an ongoing excavation of cesspits beneath stone toilets that would have once been inside households reserved for Assyrian elites.
