It Had to Happen

After you finish this article—reading time approximately eight minutes—you will know a great deal about two somewhat esoteric disciplines: palynology and archaeoparasitology.

But first a little practical in formation about ancient toilet seats, two of which were found in excavations in the City of David,^a the oldest inhabited part of Jerusalem.

The City of David is a small, 15-acre site located on a ridge just south of the Old City’s Temple Mount. It was on this site that the city of Jerusalem was founded. Although the city expanded under the Israelites, first onto the Temple Mount to the north during Solomon’s reign and then to the west during the reigns of the later kings of Judah, the original City of David served through the Babylonian destruction as an integral part of the city, as is clear from these two fine stone toilet seats.