Researcher on finding 2,400 years old toilet in China: "Burst into laughter"

Archaeologists in China have found what seems to be a 2,400 years old toilet. The discovery has also sparked questions about the likely food habits of people at that time. According to the details revealed by state-run China.org, the discovery was reported at the Yueyang archaeological site in northwestern province of Shaanxi. A Facebook post, loosely translated from French, reads: "A 2,400-year-old flush toilet has sparked the interest of archaeologists who are now trying to find out what people ate at that time by analysing soil samples taken from it."

It further stated that broken parts "including a bent pipe, were unearthed at the Yueyang archaeological site in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, last summer and put back together for months before researchers release details on February 15."

The discovery seems to offer a peak into the advanced world of the ruling elite. According a report by CNN, Liu Rui, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who was part of the excavation team, told the state media that the lavatory was possibly reserved for high-ranking officials during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and the later Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).

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Speaking to China Daily, he further said that servants presumably poured water each time it was used. "It is the first and only flush toilet to be ever unearthed in China. Everybody at the site was surprised, and then we all burst into laughter," Liu told the paper.

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