Ancient vial in Turkey shows Romans used human excrement in medicine

Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered traces of human excrement in a 1,900-year-old glass ​vial used to hold perfumes or elixirs, which ‌they believe is the first physical evidence that the Romans used faeces medicinally.

Previously, the practice of applying excrement to the skin ​to fight infections and inflammation was known only ​from ancient Roman texts.

Cenker Atila, an archaeologist specialising ⁠in ancient perfumes at Turkey’s Sivas Republic University, was ​working...