Rana Celebi

Rana Celebi, a medical historian at Istanbul Metapol University, and her colleagues analyzed the residues of a set of ancient Roman bottles.

human feces.

The use of especially animal fecal matter was once considered a potent treatment for infections and inflammation.

The team also found aromatic compounds, perhaps to mask the odor.

It's worth noting that some modern physicians are using feces for a hard-to-treat bacterial GI infection as a kind of reset of the gut microbiome.

For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel.