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Yahoo
24-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Find Surprising Bathroom Fixture at Ancient Site
Archaeologists excavating the site of a former palace discovered a surprising bathroom fixture, the Korean Heritage Service announced in a statement. Researchers scouring a site in Korea, which was formerly a royal palace, discovered a flush toilet dating back 1,300 years and was reportedly used by the region's prince. "These flush toilets are the first of their kind," Kim Gyeong Yeol, an archaeologist with the service, explained to Live Science. 'They wouldn't have worked like modern-day flushing toilets do; rather, someone, a servant perhaps, would have poured water into them to allow them to flush. The water would have then carried the waste through a drain that emptied out at the end.' Kim added that the fixture, which was used by the prince and the women closest to him, was hooked up to a device which "directly discharge[d] human waste into the river through a drain." "That [it] directly discharges it into the river seems to have a hierarchical meaning," the archaeologist mused. The kingdom, dubbed 'Donggung' or 'Crown Prince,' was erected in 674 A.D. during the first chapters of the country's "unified Silla" period, which dated from around 668 A.D. to 935 A.D. This most recent excavation is just the latest in a long series of searches conducted on the grounds. Previous expeditions have revealed 26 buildings to date, as well as a wealth of artifacts such as bowls, plates, and bricks decorated with a flower early flush toilets are the earliest known examples of such an invention in Korea, but they were used in other countries prior to 674 A.D. According to a 2016 study, Pakistan introduced flush toilets sometime between 2,600 B.C. and 1900 B.C., around the time the Egyptian pyramids were being built. These toilets were connected to drains, which emptied into a more advanced sewage system closer to those in use today. In 2021, scientists excavating a site in Jerusalem found a 2,700-year-old private toilet standing above a septic tank. The fixture was carved in limestone and used exclusively by 'rich people,' according to researchers.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
1,300-year-old royal flush toilet used by crown prince discovered at palace in Korea
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Archaeologists in Korea have uncovered the remains of multiple flushing toilets within a 1,300-year-old palace complex. But there was one "throne" to rule them all: The crown prince got a special toilet that drained directly into a nearby river. The existence of the palace complex has long been known, but new excavations are revealing more about it, including the discovery of the flush toilets. "These flush toilets are the first of their kind," at least in Korea, Kim Gyeong Yeol, an archaeologist with the Korean Heritage Service who led excavations at the site, told Live Science in an email. They wouldn't have worked like modern-day flushing toilets do; rather, someone, a servant perhaps, would have poured water into them to allow them to flush. The water would have then carried the waste through a drain that emptied out at the end. Related: 2,400-year-old flush toilet unearthed in China could be one of the world's oldest One of the toilets, found within the remains of the palace itself, "directly discharges human waste into the river through a drain," Kim said. Other flush toilets, found outside the palace in nearby structures, stored the human waste inside them, like how an outhouse works. The toilet "that directly discharges it into the river seems to have a hierarchical meaning," Kim said. This particular toilet may have been used by the crown prince and the court ladies closest to him, Kim said. The name "Donggung" palace means "crown prince," Kim said. It was built in A.D. 674 along with a pond called "Woji Pond," according to the Korean Heritage Service. It was built at the start of what historians call the "unified Silla" period, from roughly A.D. 668 to 935, when the Kingdom of Silla ruled much of the Korean Peninsula. Previous excavations have uncovered the remains of at least 26 buildings at the site, as well as numerous artifacts including bowls, plates and flower-patterned bricks, the heritage service noted. Image 1 of 2 The crown prince's toilet drained into a river. Image 2 of 2 This photo shows part of the 1,300-year-old Donggung Palace in Korea. RELATED STORIES —Who invented the toilet? —What did people use before toilet paper was invented? —A rare 2,700-year-old luxury toilet found in Jerusalem While a first for Korea, these flush toilets are not the first ones invented. The Indus Valley Civilization, based in what is now Pakistan, had cities with flush toilets, a team of researchers wrote in a 2016 paper. This civilization flourished between 2600 and 1900 B.C., around the time when pyramids were being built in Egypt. The flush toilets in the Indus Valley put the waste into a series of drains that emptied out in a sewage system, the paper reported. The English, who are sometimes credited with inventing the first modern flush toilets, didn't develop flush toilets until much later. Sir John Harrington invented a device in 1596 for Queen Elizabeth I "that released wastes into cesspools, an early version of the modern-day toilets," the team noted in the study. However, it lacked an S-bend, meaning that smells could have wafted back into the room, and took 7.5 gallons (28 liters) of water to flush.
