Xylospongium

The xylospongium or tersorium, also known as a "sponge on a stick", was a hygienic utensil used by ancient Romans to wipe their anus after defecating,[1] consisting of a wooden stick (Greek: ξύλον, xylon) with a sea sponge (Greek: σπόγγος, spongos) fixed at one end.

A replica xylospongium (sponge on a stick)

Ancient Roman latrines in Ostia Antica

The tersorium was shared by people using public latrines. To clean the sponge, they simply washed it in a bucket with water and salt or vinegar.[2] This became a breeding ground for bacteria, causing the spread of disease among those using the latrines such as typhoid and cholera.[3][4]

In classical antiquity a xylospongium might be used as a toilet brush.[5]

In the Baths of the Seven Sages in Ostia, a fresco from the 2nd century contains the Inscription (u)taris xylosphongio[6] which is the first known mention of the term. Also in the early second century a papyrus letter of Claudius Terentianus to his father Claudius Tiberianus uses the term xylespongium in a phrase.[7]

In the middle of the first century, the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger reported that a Germanic gladiator committed suicide with a sponge on a stick. According to Seneca, the gladiator hid himself in the latrine of an amphitheatre and pushed the wooden stick into his oesophagus and choked to death.[8]