Spending a Denarium
archaeologist_d mentioned this a while ago and I bookmarked it and then forgot all about it! So sorry about that, it's definitely a good one - the only known Roman wooden toilet seat and from Hadrian's Wall no less :D
In the deep trenches at Vindolanda, which was once a Roman military fort just south of Hadrian's Wall, the team found the seat discarded among rubbish left behind at the site before the construction of the wall started in the early second century.
There are many examples of stone and marble seats from across the Roman empire, but this is believed to be the only surviving wooden seat.
The team says it “has clearly been well used”, and is almost perfectly preserved in the anaerobic, oxygen-free conditions at Vindolanda. Although not as grand as a marble or stone toilet seat, it would have been more comfortable to sit on in the cool climate of Britannia.
Dr Andrew Birley, director of excavations at the site, said: “There is always great excitement when you find something that has never been seen before, and this discovery is wonderful.
“We know a lot about Roman toilets from previous excavations at the site, and from the wider Roman world, which have included many fabulous Roman latrines, but never before have we had the pleasure of seeing a surviving and perfectly preserved wooden seat."
Have a look at it here!
In the deep trenches at Vindolanda, which was once a Roman military fort just south of Hadrian's Wall, the team found the seat discarded among rubbish left behind at the site before the construction of the wall started in the early second century.
There are many examples of stone and marble seats from across the Roman empire, but this is believed to be the only surviving wooden seat.
The team says it “has clearly been well used”, and is almost perfectly preserved in the anaerobic, oxygen-free conditions at Vindolanda. Although not as grand as a marble or stone toilet seat, it would have been more comfortable to sit on in the cool climate of Britannia.
Dr Andrew Birley, director of excavations at the site, said: “There is always great excitement when you find something that has never been seen before, and this discovery is wonderful.
“We know a lot about Roman toilets from previous excavations at the site, and from the wider Roman world, which have included many fabulous Roman latrines, but never before have we had the pleasure of seeing a surviving and perfectly preserved wooden seat."
Have a look at it here!