The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy: Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems

363 Pages·2015·16.75 MB·English

by  Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow

The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy
Studies in the History of Greece and Rome Robin Osborne, James Rives, and
Richard J. A. Talbert, editors
Books in this series examine the history and society of Greece and Rome from
approximately 1,000 B.C. to A.D. 600.
The series includes interdisciplinary studies, works that introduce new areas for
investigation, and original syntheses and reinterpretations.
The Archaeology of Sanitation in
Roman Italy
Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems
ANN OLGA KOLOSKI-OSTROW
The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill
This book was published with the assistance of Furthermore:
a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund.
The Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Brandeis University in
Waltham, Massachusetts, also contributed toward the publication of the book.
© 2015 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Designed by Richard Hendel and set in Minion and Castellar
by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
Manufactured in the United States of America
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources.
The University of North Carolina Press has been a member
of the Green Press Initiative since 2003.
Jacket illustration: Ostia, Terme del Foro, trapezoidal latrine no. 7,
seats and trench along south wall (photo, Koloski-Ostrow)
Complete cataloging information can be obtained online
at the Library of Congress catalog website.
ISBN 978-1-4696-2128-9 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4696-2129-6 (ebook)
To honor the memory of
MARIANNE BOISSEVAIN
(Dutch journalist extraordinaire,
d. April 10, 2008, in Amsterdam),
with whom I first shared the
archaeology of Italy
Contents
List of Figures
Preface and Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1.
AN INTRODUCTION TO SANITATION IN ROMAN ITALY AND URBAN
CASE STUDIES OF THE BEST-PRESERVED PUBLIC LATRINES
1. The Scholarly Context for the Archaeology of Sanitation and Why It Has Not
Been Well Studied
2. Early Latrines in the Roman Urban Landscape
3. Pompeii
4. Herculaneum
5. Rome
6. Ostia
7. Observations from a Miscellany of Other Latrine Sites in Italy
8. A Proposed Latrine Typology for the First Centuries B.C. and A.D.
9. Some Observations about Private Toilets in Pompeii and Herculaneum
10. Argument for a More Nuanced Approach to Roman Hygiene and Sanitation
CHAPTER 2.
“BLACK HOLES” IN ANCIENT SPACE: EXPLORING HYGIENE AND
SANITATION THROUGH CROSS-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY
1. Theoretical Frameworks for the Study of Toilets and Sewers
2. A Disclaimer, Parameters, and Definitions for the Study of Roman Sanitation
3. Toilets in Biblical Times and in the Lands of Jews and Other Non-Romans
4. Sanitation in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century
5. Sanitary Practices of Muslims and Hindus in Eastern Countries
6. Sanitation in Asian Cultures: China, Japan, and North Vietnam
7. Finding a Benchmark for Modern Western Sanitation
8. An Unorthodox Western View of Sanitation That Corresponds to Roman
Practice
CHAPTER 3.
UNDERSTANDING ROMAN SANITATION FROM ARCHAEOLOGY:
TOILETS, SEWERS, AND WATER SYSTEMS
1. Reasons That Toilets Appeared and Proliferated in Roman Cities in Italy
2. Transfer of Latrine Technology in the Mediterranean
3. The Cloaca Maxima in Rome and Misconceptions about Its Contribution to
Sanitation
4. Water Management in Roman Cities: Sewers, Drains, Channels, and
Aqueducts
5. Waste Disposal and Sewage in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Ostia
6. Addressing Some Technical Questions about the Cloaca Maxima and Other
Urban Sewers
CHAPTER 4.
PINPOINTING BEHAVIORS, ATTITUDES, AND IDEALS FOR ROMAN
TOILETS
1. Observations from Visiting Roman Toilets
2. The Sponge Stick—A Roman Ritual for Cleanliness
3. Roman Uses of Human and Animal Waste
4. Roman Notions of Public and Private
5. The Roman Elite and Their Moral Superiority
6. Roman Ideals for Medicine and Health Derived from Medical and
Philosophical Literature
CHAPTER 5.
FINDING SOCIAL MEANING ABOUT SANITATION IN WRITTEN AND
PAINTED SOURCES
1. Modern Literary and Historical Filters for Dealing with Excrement
2. Roman Toilets, Feces, Urine, and Sewers in Latin Literature
3. “Hic cacavit bene”: Graffiti, Dipinti, and Paintings Concerning Bodily
Evacuation
4. Conclusions: Some Valuable Lessons from This Study
Figures
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Figures
The gallery of figures begins on page 123.
POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM
1. Pompeii, map, with location of public and private house toilets
2. Pompeii, map, with location of toilets open to the public
3. Pompeii, plan, Casa del Fauno
4. Pompeii, plan, Villa dei Misteri
5. Pompeii, plan, Grand Theater
6. Pompeii, plan, Forum Baths
7. Pompeii, plan, Stabian Baths
8. Pompeii, Stabian Baths, latrine trench
9. Pompeii, Stabian Baths, latrine, windows in east wall
10. Pompeii, Stabian Baths, latrine, zebra decoration and struts for seats
11. Pompeii, Forum, public latrine, facade and doorway
12. Pompeii, Forum, public latrine, staggered entrance
13. Pompeii, Forum, public latrine, sewer opening
14. Pompeii, Forum, public latrine, struts to hold seating
15. Pompeii, Forum, public latrine, window in east, inside wall
16. Pompeii, Forum, public latrine, window in west wall
17. Pompeii, plan, Grand Palaestra
18. Pompeii, Grand Palaestra, latrine, exterior
19. Pompeii, plan, Central Baths, IX.4
20. Pompeii, Central Baths, south latrine, interior facade with windows in south
wall
21. Pompeii, Suburban Baths, small latrine behind the frigidarium, sewer trench
and holes for seating braces
22. Pompeii, plan, Praedia of Julia Felix
23. Pompeii, Praedia of Julia Felix, exterior of latrine
24. Pompeii, Praedia of Julia Felix, interior of latrine with strut to hold seats
25. Herculaneum, plan, Forum Bath, VI.1–10