Experts believe the toilet seat is the only find of its kind
Posted on 08/28/2014 6:07:54 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old, perfectly preserved wooden toilet seat at a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland.
Experts at Vindolanda believe it is the only find of its kind and dates from the 2nd Century.
The site, near Hexham, has previously revealed gold and silver coins and other artefacts of the Roman army.
The seat was discovered in a muddy trench, which was previously filled with rubbish.
Dr Andrew Birley, director of excavations at Vindolanda, said: "We know a lot about Roman toilets from previous excavations at the site and from the wider Roman world, which have included many fabulous Roman latrines.
'Astonishing artefacts'
"But never before have we had the pleasure of seeing a surviving and perfectly preserved wooden seat.
"As soon as we started to uncover it there was no doubt at all on what we had found.
"It is made from a very well worked piece of wood and looks pretty comfortable.
"Now we need to find the toilet that went with it as Roman loos are fascinating places to excavate - their drains often contain astonishing artefacts.
"Let's face it, if you drop something down a Roman latrine you are unlikely to attempt to fish it out unless you are pretty brave or foolhardy."
Dr Birley said many examples of stone and marble toilet benches existed from across the Roman Empire, but this is believed to be the only surviving wooden seat.
He said it was probably preferred to a cold stone seat given the "chilly northern location".
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Experts believe the toilet seat is the only find of its kind
Wooden Roman Toilet Seat Discovered at Vindolanda
http://www.archaeology.org/news/2472-140828-england-vindolanda-seat
Betcha there are older out in the backwood of North America..
That is one HazMat suit required seat..
“Let’s face it, if you drop something down a Roman latrine you are unlikely to attempt to fish it out unless you are pretty brave or foolhardy.”
Or you have a slave you can send after it.
Keep digging! :{)
I don't care, I am still putting down one of those tissue paper SeatGard things.
Just to add to the toilet humor, just finding an ancient wooden toilet seat probably makes an archeologist pause and think “we’re going to find some good $h!t here”.
send in the grad students and interns to take samples and finish this dig..
That toilet seat was privy to a lot of scuttlebutt and hot air.
Just one more amazing find from this area. I loved the letters the Birleys found to/from people deployed to the wall.
/johnny
Reminds me of te most common graffitti found in archaeological digs around Roman toilets. The phrase “Stercus sachidet”. Literally, “shit happens”.
As it is said in the bible, “There is nothing new under the sun”.
CC
Was it up or down?
Sorry, got the spelling wrong. It was “stercus accidit”.
CC
/johnny
I know that, that’s why I wanted to beat them to the punch. =^)
CC
Great new FB status idea. ;’)
Thanks!
/johnny
I hate to think of what they used for tissue.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
