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Fit for a pharaoh: Lessons from ancient Egyptian toilets

The ancient Egyptians were technology superstars. Their towering pyramids, mummified dead, and exquisite art still impress. Another earthly treasure they left behind is more practical — it’s their toilets. These urban, waterless toilets kept poop out of the nearby river. Did they also protect people from diseases that plagued other cities?  

The earliest Egyptian toilets were discovered in ancient tombs, from nearly 5,000 years ago. These portable toilets were similar to ones used today for hunting or camping trips. But that’s not the only place toilets were found.

The pharaoh’s other throne

Archeologists have unearthed toilets from houses and palaces alike. About 3,000 years ago, the Pharaoh Akhenatan and his wife Nefertiti lived in a city now called Amarna. Their palace boasted an indoor bathroom — a shower stall and nearby toilet.

There was no running water, though: not even for the pharaoh. Shower water was hand-poured over the bather. It drained into a basin, also emptied by hand and perhaps taken to a tree growing in the courtyard.

 

Limestone toilet seat
This limestone toilet seat was installed above a collection container with sand. Credit: Tjflex2 on Flickr  (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The toilet was built into a small bathroom, often next to the shower area. A wealthy person, like the pharaoh, could have used a deluxe limestone toilet seat. The budget version was wooden. The toilet seat sat above a container, partially filled with sand. Pee and poo would drop into it and be covered up with a scoop of sand. This soaked up liquids and prevented odors. When the container filled, someone would empty it — maybe into a trash pit or buried in the sandy landscape away from the house.

Toilets for the people

But not all excavated houses turned up toilets. Why? Some think toilets were only for the elite, that average people went outside to do their business. But not everyone agrees with this idea.

Heidi Köpp-Junk is an Egyptologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany. Some houses were small, she says, so it would make sense for them to put their toilet outside in the courtyard. She imagines it enclosed with fabric, like a tent. Whether this existed or not, none have been found, and it's unlikely they would have lasted: wood and fabric decompose outdoors.

Egyptologist Barry Kemp also thinks personal toilets were commonplace. He excavated what’s called the Workmans’ Village in Amarna. This is where workers, who built the tombs for the city’s elite, lived. Kemp says that the walled village was dense, with narrow streets. Villagers probably used indoor toilets and later emptied their containers.

 

3D image of Amarna
Artists rendition of the ancient city of Amarna, on the Nile River. Credit:  P.Docherty, www.amarna3d.com

What parasites can tell us

Sand was plentiful and convenient for the ancient Egyptians. Their simple system created no wastewater, which helped keep the nearby Nile river clean, where people fished and harvested plants.

Did this keep the people healthier, too?

Piers Mitchell is a scientist who studies ancient parasites. When he analyzed parasites from ancient Egyptian mummies, the types he found were not connected to poor sanitation. For example, he didn't find whipworm or roundworm, common in adjacent cities in the Near East and Europe, he writes.

Piers thinks the absence of fecal-transmitted parasites was because the ancient Egyptians didn't need to use fertilizer. Each year, the Nile river flooded, leaving rich silt on the banks where people farmed. Other cultures used fertilizers, often from feces, which can spread parasites if not properly composted.

I think their dry toilets helped. Keeping poop out of the water and away from human contact is one way to prevent fecal-transmitted diseases.

If I could time travel, I’d head to ancient Egypt. I’d marvel at their art and architecture, eat bread and listen to the musical lute. Most of all, I’d investigate how they managed their poop: Did each household do it themselves? Or was there an organized system, with a cart pulled by donkey that came for pickup? What ever happened is another secret in the sand, waiting to be discovered.

Ruins of Amarna
Ruins of the central city of Amarna.
Credit: Kyera Giannini (2009) through the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World as part of the Ancient World Image Bank.

Notes:

  • Kemp, Barry. 2012. The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and its People. London. Thames and Hudson.
  • Mitchell, Piers. 2024. Parasites in ancient Egypt and Nubia: Malaria, schistosomiasis and the pharaohs. Advances in Parasitology. Volume 123. Pages 23-49.
  • H. Köpp-Junk, Personal communication. Nov. 2022.
  • B. Kemp. Personal communication. Nov. 2022.

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