CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—Cosmos Magazine reports that conical jars found at sites across the Roman Empire were likely used as chamber pots, and not as storage jars, as had been previously thought. Many such jars have been found near public latrines, explained Roger Wilson of the University of British Columbia. The international team of researchers analyzed a layer of minerals on the surface of a pot recovered from a fifth-century villa at the site of Gerace, which is located on the island of Sicily, and detected the presence of microscopic whipworm eggs. “It was incredibly exciting to find the eggs of these parasitic worms 1,500 years after they’d been deposited,” said team member Tianyi Wang of the University of Cambridge. The pot had likely been placed under a wickerwork or timber chair for ease of use, the researchers explained. To read about a second-century A.D. mosaic found in a Roman public latrine in Turkey, go to "Funny Business."
