Case study
Mid-7th century BC human parasite remains from Jerusalem

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.10.005Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

To determine the species of intestinal parasites present in 7th century BC high-status residents of Jerusalem and to expose the history of regional health and sanitary conditions.

Materials

Fifteen sediment samples were collected from the cesspit below a stone toilet seat found at the site of Armon Hanatziv, southern Jerusalem. The toilet installation was located in a garden adjacent to a monumental structure with extraordinary architectural elements.

Methods

A light microscope was used to identify and measure the eggs.

Results

The presence of four intestinal parasite egg taxa was detected: Trichuris trichiura (whipworm), Taenia sp. (beef/pork tapeworm), Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), and Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm). This is the earliest appearance of roundworm and pinworm in the ancient Israel parasitological record.

Conclusions

Findings reveal that intestinal parasitic diseases most likely caused by poor sanitary conditions were a human problem in the Late Iron Age of Israel, affecting even high-status groups.

Significance

The study demonstrates the potential of archaeoparasitological investigations to expand our knowledge of the origin and history of regional infections. Moreover, parasitological evidence enabled us to determine the purpose of the cubical perforated stone artifacts (stone toilet seats rather than cultic objects as currently debated).

Limitations

The eggs of some parasite taxa are less durable, so may theoretically be absent due to selective preservation.

Suggestions for Further Research

Future excavations of ancient Israel should include archaeoparasitological studies of rare toilet installations to prevent information loss of regional history of diseases and to better understand their archaeological context.

Introduction

Studies of intestinal parasite remains preserved in ancient feces deposits (archaeoparasitology) are an important tool for tracing the evolution of past infections worldwide. Archaeoparasitological studies can also provide significant information on standards of health and sanitation prevalent in ancient societies (Reinhard and Bryant, 1992, Bouchet et al., 2003, Le Bailly et al., 2006). These studies are aided by the fact that intestinal parasitic worms that infect humans lay thousands of exceptionally durable eggs per day. Once the eggs are passed into the open environment, they become a permanent archaeological record of diseases (Reinhard and Warnock, 1996, Mitchell, 2017). Parasitological studies of pinworms found in humans, great apes, and lesser apes demonstrate that pinworm evolution paralleled primate evolution. Hence, pinworms have been a nuisance since the beginning of humankind (Hugot et al., 1999).

Other parasites have more recent origins. Studies of the last several decades comparing the parasitic environment of hunter-gatherers and farming communities have demonstrated that the dramatic changes in diet, settlement patterns, and social organization caused by the advent of agriculture and, specifically, the domestication of animals, triggered the intensification in the parasitosis of humans (e.g., Reinhard, 1988). In contrast, the impermanence of hunter-gatherer settlements significantly reduced their exposure to transmissible diseases, airborne and food-borne parasites, and fecal pollution. Modern nomadic communities of hunter-gatherers that settle and eventually become farmers reflect this pattern. Rates of intestinal worms that cause anemia and delayed growth, with potentially dramatic consequences for the psychic development of children, have generally risen with a sedentary way of life (e.g., Dounias and Froment, 2006). As the birthplace of sedentism and domestication of plants and animals (Bar-Yosef and Belfer-Cohen, 1989, Zohary et al., 2012, Langgut et al., 2021), the Fertile Crescent most probably predates other regions in the appearance of intestinal parasitic infection. It is, therefore, not surprising that references to intestinal parasites appear in ancient regional texts (e.g., Papyrus Ebers, dated to ca. 1550 BC ; Hoeppli, 1956).

A 2019–2020 salvage excavation at Armon Hanatziv (south Jerusalem) exposed an estate with extraordinary architectural elements. Ya’akov Billig of the Israel Antiquity Authority directed the excavation. Based on a preliminary pollen investigation (conducted by DL), adjacent to the estate was a garden of fruit trees and ornamental plants (Fig. 1). During excavation of the garden area, a few installations were revealed, including a large water reservoir and a cubical stone object with a perforated hole in its center interpreted as a stone toilet seat (Billig et al., 2021; Fig. 2). This installation and associated sediments at its base are the focus of this study.

In Hebrew, the name of the site, Armon Hanatziv, means the Commissioner's Palace. The site is also known as the British Mandate Governor's House. The monumental structure uncovered included rare stone artifacts made of soft limestone with decorative carvings. The collection is composed of three complete, medium-sized stone capitals in the architectural style known as 'Proto-Aeolian' and items from lavish window frames and balustrades made of stylish columns on which a series of Proto-Aeolian style capitals of a tiny size were affixed. The level of workmanship on these capitals is the most expert seen to date in ancient Israel, and their excellent degree of preservation is rare (Billig, 2021). Based on ceramic typology, the site was dated to the mid-7th century BC (Billig et al., 2021), probably in the period between the reigns of King Hezekiah and King Josiah when Jerusalem was restored after the Assyrian siege of the city in 701 BC. The views from the ridge where Armon Hanatziv is situated are breathtaking: to the north, the City of David, and to the south, the Judean Desert. Jerusalem is located at the margins of the Mediterranean vegetation zone. During the investigated period, the region enjoyed the same climate as it does today (Kagan et al., 2015, Langgut et al., 2015, Finkelstein and Langgut, 2018, Palmisano et al., 2019).

The dimensions of the cubical stone object found in the garden and suggested as a stone toilet seat are: 53 × 49×35 cm. Current archaeological evidence of toilets in ancient Israel is limited. The earliest findings are dated to the Late Bronze Age and derive from three sites: a 15–13th century BC cesspit from Tell el ͑Ajjul (Petrie, 1932), a mid-14th century BC cesspit from Megiddo (Langgut et al., 2016), and, at Hazor, an ex-situ stone toilet seat and several cesspits connected by drains were found associated with Late Bronze Age strata (Fink, 2009: 169). In all three cases, the installations were located in palatial areas, indication of their use by members of ruling groups. Several stone toilet seats were exposed from Late Iron Age II Israel: a few in the City of David (Chapman, 1992, Shiloh, 1984, Steiner, 2001, De Groot and Bernick-Greenberg, 2012: 352), one near Ramat Rahel (Eisenberg and De Groot, 2006), and two in Lachish (Ganor and Kreimerman, 2019, Kleiman, 2020: Fig. 1). Pits associated with a drainage system were exposed in northern Israel (Ayyelet ha-Shahar), suggesting they were part of a toilet installation (Kletter and Zwickel, 2006). Unfortunately, only two archaeoparasitological studies were conducted at these toilet installations. Whereas at Megiddo’s cesspit no parasite remains were found (Langgut et al., 2016), at Area E3 in the City of David, high concentrations of intestinal parasite eggs were recovered (Cahill et al., 1991).

During the excavation at Armon Hanatziv, several sediment samples associated with the stone toilet seat were collected for archaeoparasitological investigation. The study objectives were to provide information regarding the sanitary conditions of 7th century BC high-status residents of Jerusalem and to shed light on the history of diseases and epidemics in the region.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Fifteen sediment samples were taken during the excavation using sterile equipment in order to prevent outside contamination. Eleven samples were recovered from various contexts associated with the stone toilet installation (samples nos. 1–11). Four additional samples were collected to serve as controls (samples nos. 12–15): three from the sediments on top and near the installation, and one sample from the surface sediment, 100 m east of the site.

During the extraction procedure, one Lycopodium

Results

Six archaeological samples were found to contain well-preserved parasite eggs from four taxa (in decreasing order; Table 1 and Fig. 3): Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), Trichuris trichiura (whipworm), Taenia sp. (beef/pork tapeworm), and Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm). The highest parasite egg concentrations were recorded for sample no. 5, which was taken from just below the stone toilet installation at its southwestern corner. No parasite egg remains were found in the four control samples

Discussion

The two largest taxa in the Armon Hanatziv assemblage, roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), often contribute to malnutrition and to childhood stunting resulting from heavy infections (Fig. 3b and d). Both taxa have a fecal-oral transmission. They are common in conditions of limited sanitation and/or poor hygiene, where inadequate disposal of fecal material, contamination of food and water supplies with fecal waste, and the use of human feces as field fertilizer

Summary

The archaeoparasitological analysis conducted at the extraordinary Late Iron Age estate of Armon Hanatziv sheds new light on the history of diseases and epidemics during the mid-7th century BC in Jerusalem. To date, this is among the earliest evidence of parasite remains in ancient Israel. Four taxa of intestinal egg parasites were recovered from the sediments below the in-situ stone toilet seat: roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), beef/pork tapeworm (Taenia sp.),

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Ya’akov Billig and Yuval Gadot for their exchange of thoughts and ideas and to express appreciation to Efrat Botzer for her help collecting samples during the excavation. Eitan Kremer assisted with the microscopic identification, Amy Klein with English editing, and Yaniv Korman drew the illustration. I acknowledge the editor and the reviewers who provided insightful comments that improved the study.

References (52)

  • O. Bar-Yosef et al.

    The origins of sedentism and farming communities in the Levant

    J. World Prehist.

    (1989)
  • Y. Billig

    Late First Temple period decorated stone capitals from Armon Hanatziv in southern Jerusalem

    Qadmoniot

    (2021)
  • Billig, Y. , Froid, l ., Botzer, E. , 2021. A magnificent royal estate from the end of the First Temple period at Armon...
  • F. Bouchet et al.
    (2003)
  • J. Cahill et al.

    It had to happen: scientists examine remains of ancient bathroom

    Bib. Archaeol. Rev.

    (1991)
  • R. Chapman

    A stone seat found in Jerusalem in 1925

    Palest. Explor. Q.

    (1992)
  • A.E. Dent et al.

    Ascariasis (Ascaris lumbricoides).

  • E. Dounias et al.

    When forest-based hunter-gatherers become sedentary: consequences for diet and health

    Unasylva

    (2006)
  • E. Eisenberg et al.

    A tower from the Iron Age near Ramat Rahel

  • I. Finkelstein et al.

    The unique specialised economy of Judah under Assyrian rule and its impact on the material culture of the kingdom

    Palest. Expl. Q.

    (2021)
  • I. Finkelstein et al.

    Climate, settlement history, and olive cultivation in the Iron Age Southern Levant

    BASOR

    (2018)
  • S.A. Fink

    Levantine standardized luxury in the Late Bronze Age: waste management at Tell Atchana (Alalakh)

  • S. Ganor et al.

    An eighth-century B.C.E. gate shrine at Tel Lachish

    Israel. BASOR

    (2019)
  • De Groot, A., Bernick-Greenberg, H., 2012. Catalog of small finds and varia in: excavations at the City of David...
  • S. Harter et al.

    Toilet practices among members of the Dead Sea Scrolls sect at Qumran (100BCE-68CE)

    Rev. de Qum

    (2004)
  • J.P. Hugot et al.

    Human enterobiasis in evolution: origin, specificity and transmission

    Parasite

    (1999)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text