Here we are, collectively, as a species, patting ourselves on the back for coming up with a solution to a variety of ailments. A solution that is simultaneously brilliant and laughably stupid: poop transplants. Well, there is now archaeological evidence that the ancient Romans were using poop as medicine thousands of years ago.
Publishing their findings in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, researchers in Türkiye reported the discovery of a Roman-era glass vessel known as an unguentarium. They found chemical traces of human feces inside them, which probably would’ve been a real big surprise for some lady dolling herself up for a hot date.
The bottle dates back to the second century CE and was housed at the Bergama Archaeology Museum. Lining its inner walls was a dark residue that analysis revealed contained biomarkers consistent with human poop. The sample also included aromatic compounds from time, probably added to offset the distinctly shitty smell.
All of this is to say that researchers found the first direct chemical evidence that human feces were stored in such containers, implying that historical accounts suggesting that excrement was used medicinally in the ancient world were probably correct.
The study’s authors say that the discovery is just another piece of evidence to add to the pile demonstrating how the boundaries between cosmetics, medicine, hygiene, and ritual practice in Roman society were blurred and often overlapped significantly. So much so that the filthy stuff that came out of you was then directly applied back onto you, and they called it medicine.
Back then, rubbing feces on an infected area probably spread the infection. Today, thanks to fecal microbiota transplants, or FMT, a still somewhat experimental medical procedure, feces from a healthy donor are used to restore gut bacteria.
Teams are currently looking into whether FMT therapies can potentially treat irritable bowel syndrome, one of the peskier modern-day ailments that affects 10 to 15 percent of people in the United States.
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