Ancient Toilet Unearthed

An archeological team has unearthed a luxurious public toilet built in the 4th Century BC on the Aegean island of Amorgos.

Excavation director Leila Marangou, who teaches classical archeology at Ioannina University, said the 7-by-5-foot, stone-roofed building was discovered last summer at the ancient city of Minoa.

“It’s a splendidly preserved toilet built in an age when luxury first started to matter. And it’s the most complete ancient Greek example ever found,” she said. “It seated four people on two marble benches and the walls were colorfully decorated in yellow, red and green plaster . . . and it had a marble door.”

Marangou, who has excavated on Amorgos since 1981, said toilets in private homes were rare in ancient Greece, but they sometimes were found in wealthy mansions and adjoining public buildings.

The Amorgos toilet was next to a gymnasium and would have been used by men training there, she said. It was equipped with a plumbing system that supplied running water.