Late Republican-Era Roman Toilets

Rome is filled with ruins. Here is an example of an entire block that has been recently excavated. This is the block between Largo di Torre Argentina and Via Florida on the north and south, respectively, and Via di Torre Argentina and Via San Nicola da' Cesarini on the west and east, respectively. This is the view looking north from Via Florida.

The wide steps to the left are remains of a temple probably dedicated to Feronia, an ancient Italic goddess of the harvest. Just beyond that temple are remains of the central exedra of Pompey's portico.

Just beyond the center of the area shown here are the remains of the Statio Aquarum or the Office of the Department of Water Distribution.

Pompey, more formally known as Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, lived 106-48 BC. He was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He was initially an ally to Julius Caesar, and joined Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus in the First Triumvirate which dominated military and political developments in the late Roman Republic. After the death of Crassus, Pompey and Caesar fought for leadership in Caesar's civil war, with Pompey on the side of the conservative and aristocratic faction of the Roman Senate. He was defeated by Caesar in the battle of Pharsalus, sought refuge in Egypt, and was then assassinated.

Pompey's portico was used as the Senate house. The Senate met there, and it was where Julius Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC.

A large public latrine is found in the northwest corner of this excavated block. This would have been the toilet used when the Roman Senate took a bathroom break, since the Senate met in the building adjacent to the south side of this large latrine.

In the picture at left you see the tram that runs south on Via di Torre Argentina. Along the base of the wall you see the drainage line for the public latrines. Pompey's portico and the Senate meeting hall is hidden by the trees to the left.

A long row of seats, now missing, would have been directly over the large channel. Users would have been seated facing toward our right in this view, or toward the more recent brick wall, so they could bend forward and dip water from the shallow channel running past their feet.

Rose George's The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters is a fascinating description of sanitation conditions around the world. "2.6 billion people don't have sanitation. [....] Four in ten people have no access to any latrine, toilet, bucket, or box. [....] Poor sanitation, bad hygiene, and unsafe water — usually unsafe because it has fecal particles in it — cause one in ten of the world's illnesses. [....] Diarrhea — nearly 90 percent of which is caused by fecally contaminated food or water — kills a child every fifteen seconds. The number of children who have died from diarrhea in the last decade [1998-2008] exceeds the total number of people killed by armed conflict since the Second World War.

In September 2009, Morna Gregory and Sian James published a book titled Toilets of the World. It's pretty much the same theme that you find here — photographs and commentary on other people's plumbing.

The Porcelain God: A Social History of the Toilet, by Julie Horan, contends that civilization began with the toilet.

Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, edited by Laura Noren and Harvey Molotch, has essays by anthropologists, sociologists, and architects on the importance of the toilet, especially for urban dwellers.

Latrinae Et Foricae: Toilets in the Roman World describes the toilets of the Roman Empire from Iberia to Syria, and from North Africa to Hadrian's Wall in Britannia.

Toilets, Bathtubs, Sinks, and Sewers: A History of the Bathroom, explains the history of personal cleanliness and hygiene to children in grades 5-8.

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