News in Brief Archaeology

Roman toilets didn’t flush parasites

Roman Toilets in Libya

The Roman Empire is credited with spreading sanitation technology, such as these latrines in Libya, throughout their realm. 

Craig Taylor

By Helen Thompson

- More than 2 years ago

Ancient Rome’s toilets, baths, aqueducts and sewage systems may not have revolutionized public health after all. The proof is in the poop, paleopathologist Piers Mitchell of the University of Cambridge argues online January 8 in Parisitology.