As some of you know, I am a card carrying Archaeologist.
I read a story on the relatively recent discovery of the Essenes latrine in the Dead Sea and pondered the irony of it.
The Essenes fecal matter was loaded with deadly parasites. After pooping, but before returning to their homes, they were required to bathe in a communal pool so they could be "ritually clean in the eyes of the lord." The problem was the water was rarely changed in this pool and became a breeding ground and transfer point for the parasites. Ironically, it was this ritual bathing practice, combined with their extreme puritanical lifestyle, that may have caused the demise and extinction of the Essenes.
The Essenes fecal matter was loaded with deadly parasites. After pooping, but before returning to their homes, they were required to bathe in a communal pool so they could be "ritually clean in the eyes of the lord." The problem was the water was rarely changed in this pool and became a breeding ground and transfer point for the parasites. Ironically, it was this ritual bathing practice, combined with their extreme puritanical lifestyle, that may have caused the demise and extinction of the Essenes.
James Tabor's quote sums it up.
"As a group the men of Qumran were very unhealthy, but I think this would have been likely to have actually fed the Essenes' religious enthusiasm," said Tabor. "They would have seen their infirmities as punishment from God for their lack of purity and then have tried even harder to purify themselves further."
What is your favorite religious irony?
