  | 2,700-year-old toilet excavated in Jerusalem was ‘pretty comfortable’ |
Overlooking a sea of Jerusalem's stone buildings and King Solomon's First Temple, a wealthy man from the 7th century B.C. built himself a palace where he could appreciate what is still recognized as one of the best views of the ancient city. Perhaps a man of royal blood or political power, he probably broadcast his affluence by hosting dignitaries and displaying intricate pottery and stone architecture, experts said.
He also appreciated a rare luxury — a toilet. The rectangular-shaped limestone commode is about 2,700 years old, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.
Archaeologists discovered it as part of an excavation of the palace at Armon Hanatziv in southern Jerusalem.
"It's very rare," Yaakov Billig, the archaeologist from the Antiquities Authority who oversaw the excavation, said. "So this guy was well off."
Archaeologists are frequently excavating areas of Israel. The findings are a tourist draw, and many of the antiques are sent to museums or studied by experts.
The project, which started two years ago, was financed by the City of David Foundation, a nonprofit focused on preserving the ancient area.
Billig, who has worked as an archaeologist for the Israel Antiquity Authority for about 34 years, and his team found the toilet toward the end of their dig in March. The block is over 1.12 feet wide and nearly 14 inches high, he said, and there is a hole in the center.
"It was pretty comfortable," Billig said. Below it was a septic tank, an even rarer feature. The archaeologist said that among the handful of ancient toilets found in Jerusalem, only one other had that feature.
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