10 July: The worlds oldest toilets : cool things I learnt today.

marmitelover2000

So, why this topic?

Simple! was just curious about the subject of sanitation and here is what I learnt:

The oldest recorded toilet we have dug up so far is in Scotland from around 3000 BC.

It was found by Archeologists on the island of orkney. You have maybe already heard of Skara Brae (not a 2000's pop star, but a stone age /neolithic settlement)

Believe it or not they were believed to actually be indoor toilets, a luxury that many of our wartime counterparts didn't have.

There were even signs of a primitive drainage and sewer system!

Waste was supposedly "flushed" into the drain with pots of water ( still works on our toilets now if you have a weak flush )

However, this is so far the best estimate as there have been no human coprolites (fossilised poo [yuck] ) Found nearby. Only those made by doggies who probably ate the scraps from their neolithic besties the humans. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-020-01225-9

This is probably a good thing for the archaeologists though or It would give a whole new meaning to "indiana jones and the temple of doom".

Let me know if you have any questions!

I'm by no means an expert but I like learning about new things :)

66Mustang

I love this!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing it

Toilets are cool and I think they are underrated and under appreciated …

It seems you like learning about random stuff as well, that's one of my hobbies

Did you know that coprolites are BRILLIANT as fertiliser??? A village close to my town used to be a national centre of coprolites in the 1800s, they used to dig them up, and they didn't know what they were but they used to sell them as magic powder that made crops grow and people would come from all over the country to buy them

Rachel_Scope

This is great! More of this please 😊

I love learning new things, especially random things. Guess we've all got something in common @66Mustang and @marmitelover2000!

Jimm_Scope

I do love archaeology! We've learned a lot from the discovery of Skara Brae, it really is quite fascinating how people lived on these cold, Atlantic islands all those thousands of years ago.

marmitelover2000

@66Mustang That is so interesting!

It also makes a lot of sense as to why maybe human coprolites weren't found. Far too valuable to waste :)

@66Mustang @Rachel_Scope

My Grandma suggested I try learning and writing about a new random thing every day. So hopefully I can keep up!

Rachel_Scope

I think I'm going to steal your Grandma's idea! Please keep posting new things that you learn, it's wonderful 😊