• A “very rare” private toilet was discovered during an archaeological dig in Jerusalem.

• The toilet cubicle may have come with air fresheners, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

• Toilets like these would have been a luxury reserved for the wealthy, researchers say.

A “very rare” 2,700-year-old private toilet was discovered during an archaeological dig in Jerusalem, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The toilet cubicle, carved out of limestone, was discovered by Israeli archaeologists in the Armon HaNetziv neighborhood of East Jerusalem, near the site where the Hebrew Bible says Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac, The time of Israel reported.

The researchers say that the amenity would have been a luxury at the time. “A private toilet cubicle was very rare in antiquity, and only a few have been found to date, most of them in the City of David,” said Yaakov Billig, director of excavations for the Antiquities Authority of ‘Israel, according to The Times of Israel. “In fact, only the rich could afford a toilet.”

Billig said in a video that an ancient ‘toilet seat’, carved in stone, was a ‘very rare find’.

Ha’aretz reported that under the toilet seat there was a septic tank. It was not connected to a sewer system. The outlet said it would most likely have been periodically emptied by servants.

It’s also possible that 30 to 40 bowls found nearby are old air fresheners, depending on the Smithsonian Magazine. The containers may have contained aromatic oils or frankincense, the media outlet said.

Archaeologists have already discovered several other toilets in Jerusalem, including one found in 2016, which may have been used to intentionally desecrate a pagan shrine.

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