China's propaganda machine lost no time in staking a claim to the invention. The tomb's drainage system appeared to have more to do with channelling away rainwater, he added.
China faces strong competition.
Contrary to popular mythology, the Victorian plumber Thomas Crapper has almost no claim to inventing the modern lavatory, but merely tinkered with the inventions of others. The Henan tomb, belonging to a wealthy king, was fitted with all the comforts that its owner would require in the afterlife. Archaeologists also uncovered the nearby tomb of a queen consort which consisted of more than 30 rooms, including a bathroom, lavatory, a kitchen and an ice store. China takes intense pride in having invented gunpowder, the printing press, paper money, kites and the magnetic compass. In recent years, the nation has laid claim to inventing golf, ice cream, forks, spoons and the pizza.