Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered traces of human excrement in a 1,900-year-old glass vial used to hold perfumes or elixirs, which they believe is the first physical evidence that the Romans used faeces medicinally.
View of ancient city Pergamon, the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon in 281–133 BC under the Attalid dynasty who transformed it into one of the major cultural centres of the Greek world, in Bergama district of Izmir, Turkey © Mena Today
Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered traces of human excrement in a 1,900-year-old glass vial used to hold perfumes or elixirs, which they believe is the first physical evidence that the Romans used faeces medicinally.
Previously, the practice of applying excrement to the skin to fight infections and inflammation was known only from ancient Roman texts.
Cenker Atila, an archaeologist specialising in ancient perfumes at Turkey's Sivas Republic University, was working with colleagues to identify the contents of hundreds of vials held in Bergama Museum, close to the ruins of the ancient city of Pergamon in Turkey's western province of Izmir.
Pharmacologist Ilker Demirbolat ran a chemical analysis on the contents of one vial, finding human faeces and thyme oil.
The long-necked bottle or unguentarium was recovered from looters, so experts can't be sure where it was excavated.
However, Pergamon was home to a renowned hospital and to the ancient physician Galen, who documented the use of excrement in medicine. The bottle's design also suggests it comes from the area.
"We found a medicine that has survived from ancient times to the present day," Atila said, "we found excrement while expecting perfume."
Demirbolat said Roman physicians described how the medicine could cause revulsion, and recommended mixing it with something that smelled nice, hence the presence of thyme oil.
By Ali Kucukgocmen
British police said they are investigating possible Iran links to a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in London, which the UK chief rabbi said showed a sustained campaign of violence against the Jewish community was gathering momentum.
In a characteristically combative post published Sunday, US President Donald Trump issued his most explicit military threat yet against Iran, warning that the United States would "knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge in Iran" if Tehran refuses to accept Washington's proposed deal.
The Israeli military published for the first time a map of its new deployment line inside Lebanon on Sunday, bringing dozens of mostly abandoned Lebanese villages under its control, days after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.