
A royal meeting ended in a cesspit
In 1184, about sixty nobles in Erfurt died when a floor gave way and dropped them into a latrine pit. Some victims did not die from the fall at all. They drowned in human waste.Erfurt Latrine Disaster: Nobles Drowned in Sewage

It started as a peace meeting
In medieval Germany, 18-year-old Henry VI came to Erfurt to settle a bitter dispute between Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia and Archbishop Conrad of Mainz. Instead of ending the conflict, the meeting turned into catastrophe.Erfurt Latrine Disaster: Nobles Drowned in Sewage