Ancient Toilets and Views on Pottying
www.utexas.edu
www.wikipedia.com
●
www.wikipedia.com
 Latrines
were everywhere
 Can
be as indicators of “Romanization” (like
amphitheaters or baths)
 Pompeii:
Several public latrines, nearly every
house had private latrine
From Latrinae et Foricae
From “Public Latrines of Pompeii”
 Usually
multi-seaters
 Public:



Usually stone seats
Suspended over a deep drain with running water
Small water channel in front of seats
 Private:



Seats probably wooden
Not suspended over drain
Elevated, tiled surface
From Latrinae et Foricae
 Water


Supply
Aqueducts
Waste Water
 Cesspits
 Dung
Heaps
From Latrinae et Foricae
 Sponge


on Stick
A Gladiator, preparing to enter battle, “withdrew
in order to relieve himself – the only thing he was
allowed to do in secret and without the presence
of a guard. While so engaged, he seized the stick
of wood, tipped with a sponge, which was used
for the vilest purposes and stuffed it, just as it
was, down his throat; thus he blocked up his
windpipe and choked the breath from his body”
Water Channel in front of toilets
 Hand

washing
“After easing his bladder, he called for water,
and having dipped his hands momentarily in the
bowl, dried them on one of the lads' hair.”
 Intentional
Sanitation?
 Decoration


Public: Marble, Mosaics, Statuary
Private: Basic
 Ventilation


Windows
Smell
From “Public Latrines of Pompeii”
 Classes


High Class vs. Low Class
Latrines vs. Chamber Pots
 Gender



Separated Bathing
Modesty of Toga
Private Latrines
From Latrinae et Foricae
 Division


Public Nature of Private Latrines
Social Function
 Concept

between Public and Private
of Privacy
Modern ideas of privacy
and social taboos on
defecating
 Paintings



In the Caupona (tavern) of the Seven Sages
Seven Sages of Greece
Discussion of Defecation
 Written


at Ostia
References
Literary, Graffiti
Handout
 Given
everything, what can we say about
attitudes toward latrines and using them?
 Is
there a difference between the elite
attitude towards this stuff and the nonelite?

(Think about Trimalchio’s banquet vs. tavern
paintings, latrines vs. chamber pots)

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





Clarke, John R. Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans: Visual Representations and
Non-Elite Viewers in Italy, 100 B.C.-A.D. 315. Berkley: University of California, 2003
Favro, Diane. "Roman Latrines." Places 11.1 (1997): 72-73. EScholarship. University
of California. Web. 7 Nov. 2009. <http:// escholarship.org/uc/item/4qg2k5fn>.
Hobson, Barry. Latrinae et Foricae: Toilets in the Roman World. London: Gerald
Duckworth and Co. Ltd., 2009. Print.
Jansen, Gemma. "The Water System; Supply and Drainage." The World of Pompeii
(Routledge Worlds). Ed. John J. Dobbins and Pedar W. Foss. New York: Routledge,
2007. 257-66.
Koloski-Ostrow, Ann Olga. "Finding Social Meaning in the Public Latrines of Pompeii."
Cura aquarum in Campania proceedings of the Ninth International Congress on the
History of Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering in the Mediterranean
Region : Pompeii, 1-8, 1994. Ed. Nathalie De Haan and Gemma C.M. Jansen. Leiden:
Stichting Babesch, 1996. 79-86.
Koloski-Ostrow, Ann Olga. “The City Baths of Pompeii and Herculaneum." The World
of Pompeii (Routledge Worlds). Ed. John J. Dobbins and Pedar W. Foss. New York:
Routledge, 2007. 224-256.
Rykwert, Joseph. "Privacy in Antiquity." Social Research 68 (2001): 29-40.
Shanks, Hershel. "The Puzzling Channels in Ancient Latrines." Biblical Archaeology
Review 28.5 (2002): 49-51, 70.