Sanitation in ancient Rome
Drainage systems evolved slowly and began primarily as a means to drain marshes and storm runoff.
[1] The sewage system as a whole did not dramatically improve until the arrival of the Cloaca Maxima, an open channel that was later covered, and one of the best-known sanitation artifacts of the ancient world.
This law was enforced only in the daytime, it is presumed, because one then lacked the excuse of darkness for injuring another by careless waste disposal.
Waste flushed from the latrines flowed through a central channel into the main sewage system and thence into a nearby river or stream.
A system of eleven Roman aqueducts provided the inhabitants of Rome with water of varying quality, the best being reserved for potable supplies.
Latrine systems have been found in many places, such as Housesteads, a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and elsewhere that flushed waste away with a stream of water.
[5] 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.
They were also responsible for the efficiency of the drainage and sewage systems, the cleansing of the streets, prevention of foul smells, and general oversight of baths.
The management and maintenance involved in keeping the aqueducts flowing is well described by Frontinus, a general appointed by the emperor Nerva as water commissioner toward the end of the first century AD.
When first appointed, he surveyed and mapped the entire system, and strove to investigate the many abuses of the water supply, such as the act of tapping into pipes illegally.
The system in Rome was copied in all provincial towns and cities of the Roman Empire, and even down to villas that could afford the plumbing.
Roman citizens came to expect high standards of hygiene, and the army was also well provided with latrines and bath houses, or thermae.
[6] Other aqueducts of importance to Roman sanitation was the Aqua Marcia built between 144-140 BC, which provided large amounts of quality water to Rome.
[7] One Aqueduct with some major importance to Rome was Traiana, which tapped from the clear springs of the northern and western slopes above lake Bracciano.
[7] It is said that the “Romans fully appreciated the importance of plentiful and wholesome supply of water, for domestic purposes to health of the Community.
"Unfortunately its functions did not include house-to-house garbage collection, and this led to indiscriminate refuse dumping, even to the heedless tossing of trash from windows.
[10] It is commonly believed the Romans used sea sponges on a stick and dipped in vinegar after defecation (for anal hygiene), but the practice is only attested to once.
