After the celebration of Rome’s Birthday maybe some are feeling, well, crappy. Today explores a less glamorous side of living in Ancient Rome but what was still very much a part of everyday living. We are talking about public latrines.
In his Natural History, Pliny remarked that of all the things Romans had accomplished, the sewers were “the most noteworthy things of all”. This was said in the 1st Century AD for the Roman sewage system was very efficient, but it had not always been that way.
Most towns throughout the Empire were smaller towns where there weren’t any sewers. That meant sewage collectors came through and got the waste from each house and carried it off to sell to farmers to use as fertilizer on their fields, just like in China at the same time. In small villages they didn’t even have outhouses, so people just walked out to the fields to handle their business there.
In larger Roman towns, people often got sick or died from drinking water that had been contaminated with sewage. Just as in Greek towns, early Roman sewage management equated to people just pouring their waste into the street however they wanted.
If you are curious as to why most Europeans and European-style toilets are made for sitting, instead of squatting like most toilets still in use in modern China, you have the Romans to thank. They introduced the sit down public toilets that had room for lots of people at the same time.
Public latrines date back to the 2nd Century BC and, whether intentionally or not, they became places to socialize. The act of actually relieving oneself is thought of as private, but the socializing is still done in modern times.
An axiom from Martial (Book 11; Epigram 77) reveals just how public privies were among the most frequented places in the city for socializing:
“In omnibus Vacerra quod conclavibus
consumit horas et die toto sedet,
cenaturit Vacerra, non cacaturit.”
Roughly translated, the saying goes: “In privies Vacerra consumes the hours; the whole day does he sit; Vacerra wants to dine, he does not want to sh*t.”
Public toilets (foricae) can usually be found at many archaeological sites, varying in size and shape from large and semi-circular, so all could be seen while talking, to smaller and private ones.
In general, public latrines were long bench-like seats with keyhole-shaped openings cut in rows offered little privacy. Most latrines were free, for others small charges were made. Just like today privacy costs money.
According to Lord Amulree, the site where Julius Caesar was assassinated, the Hall of Curia in the Theatre of Pompey was turned into a public latrine because of the dishonor it had witnessed. The sewer system, like a little stream or river, ran beneath it, carrying the wastes away to the Cloaca Maxima.
Hygiene was still considered generally high for all in ancient Rome hence the famous public baths, latrines and toilets, exfoliating cleansers, and public facilities. There’s always an exception and Rome’s was the use of a communal toilet sponge.
It is commonly believed the Romans used sea sponges on a stick & dipped in vinegar after defecation. Not so hygienic no matter how dutifully it was rinsed out after use.
To help with sewage, and the other dysentery-like illnesses or deaths caused by waste water, many Roman towns built aqueducts to bring in fresh water from the hills outside of the towns. This, combined with the elaborate systems of sewage pipes, allowed the raw sewage to be washed into the river instead of leaving it lying around in the streets.
Romans then recycled public bath waste water by using it as part of the flow that flushed the latrines. Terra cotta piping was used in the plumbing that carried waste water from homes.
The Romans were the first to seal pipes in concrete to resist the high water pressures developed in siphons and elsewhere. That speaks well of the ancient artisans for their construction and craftsmanship.
Running water, however, did not reach the poor’s tenements from the aqueducts. These lesser folks relieved themselves in pots or commodes which were emptied into vats located under staircases and these emptied into cesspools throughout the city.
A law was eventually passed to protect innocent bystanders from assault by wastes thrown into the street. The violator was forced to pay damages to whomever his waste hit, if that person sustained an injury. This law was enforced only in the daytime, presumably because one lacked the excuse of darkness for injuring another by careless waste disposal.
Beginning around the 5th Century BC, city officials called Aedilis supervised the sanitary systems. They were responsible for the efficiency of the drainage and sewage systems, the cleansing and paving of the streets, prevention of foul smells, and general oversight of brothels, taverns, baths, and other water supplies.
Roman water and sewage systems were the forerunners of the sanitation systems we have today that keep people’s water clean and safe. Today the city of Rome has been joined by newer cities like London and New York City in maintaining healthy water supplies, and new street cleaning services keep the streets and buildings much cleaner than they were in Ancient Rome.
Whether it was the streets of Rome herself or at the Housesteads Fort along Hadrian’s Wall, Romans had some form of hygiene in mind for sewage removal. It’s been said cleanliness is next to godliness. That probably includes one’s bum as well.
Hopefully you were not put off by today’s article. Come back and see what Rome Across Europe has tomorrow.
Till then, Don’t Stop Rome-ing!
References:
Michael Grant, Readings from The Visible Past.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/science/sewage.htm#!
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/hygienebaths/a/102310-Hygiene-In-Ancient-Rome.htm