Archeologists in China have found the remains of what may be the world’s oldest known flush toilet.
Broken parts of the 2,400-year-old lavatory, as well as a bent flush pipe, were unearthed last summer by a research team among ancient palace ruins in the Yueyang archaeological site in the central city of Xi'an, according to Chinese state media.
Details of the find were released last week, sparking widespread interest in China and offering a rare insight into the privileged and competitively advanced world of the country's ancient ruling elite. Described by researchers as a"luxury object," the toilet was thought to have been located inside the palace, with a pipe leading to an outdoor pit, according to state-owned China Daily.
Liu Rui, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who was part of the excavation team, told state media the toilet would have likely been reserved for high-ranking officials during the Warring States Period and the later Han Dynasty . He added that servants would likely have poured water into the toilet bowl every time it was used.
"The flush toilet is concrete proof of the importance the ancient Chinese attached to sanitation," Liu said, adding that there were very few records of indoor toilets in ancient times.
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