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This research looks into the history of ancient Greek Lavatories, It discusses the different toilet types that are used. This also leads to a discussion of the sewage systems behind them and the use of wastewater in society. It also takes a look at the difference between the public and private lavatories of ancient Greek society.
Look of Greek Toilets
The Hellenistic period was a period of great evolution in water technology for Greece. Lavatories have been found not just in private houses but also in public buildings and also sanctuaries. Toilets at the time commonly look like seats with keyhole, the shape can be seen in the image below on the left (Antoniou, 70) openings over a ditch. Other types that were used are clay containers that were used for defecation, earthen seats that were above cesspits, or had a mechanism for collection and drainage. (Antoniou,69) In another city stone toilet seats were found. Often structures for toilets start with a piece of wood as the bench with key-shaped holes and a seat on top of that. Toilets are typically located at a part of the building that would be the most convenient for the water supply to come through. ( Antoniou, 67) Lavatories were often used by multiple people at a time.
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Public Vs. Private Lavatories
In domestic lavatories, 2-3 people could use them at a given, while in public lavatory they could reach up to 60 people. With public and private lavatories came slight distinction between the two of them. The size and number of holes in them changed. It also determined if continuous water flow was used in them. In public lavatories, the layout was determined by the ditch underneath them, used water from the natural flow was used to flush the toilets, (Antoniou, 73) Private lavatories in domestic homes used either small or medium-sized ditches under them. The small sizes often had one opening on a bench along one wall. Since larger ones had more space they were able to utilize three walls that each had benches along with them and the toilet holes along with them. The private bathroom was also often flushed with reused water. The spacing of the toilet along the bench can be seen in the image to the right. (Antoniou, 73)
In Knossos, residential toilets were found being made with a wooden seat and that involved a flushing conduit along with that a clay tube was discovered right outside the room that indicated that water was poured through the hole that was located right near it outside of the lavatory room. ( Angelakis, Koutsoyiannis, Tchobanoglous, 212) Toilets in the area were found being made out of other materials like hard stone. Differentiated toilet designs were found, some even in the same city, where some are designed with the purpose of standing while in others they sit down on seats, which is found most often.
Toilet Materiality & Sizing
The seats were often constructed out of stone slabs, but not always some were out of wood. The size of the toilets was approximately 10-20cm thick and 45-50 cm wide, while the length varied on the size of the lavatory. The size of the lavatory also affected how many slabs would be them, and the spacing of them. (Antoniou, 76) Examples of the variety in the types of toilets are displayed to the left. (Antoniou,77) In the middle of the lavatories was often a “small shallow reservoir” that was used for what was used as the sanitary paper of the time. (Antoniou,79)
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Greek Water System
In Ancient Greece, lavatories and sewer systems were not as necessary as then, but they had them in place for the convenience factor. In order to have them through the Greeks had to create innovative systems in order to source the water that is used from a long distance. Studies of the systems show that they could’ve been able to flush the systems out with rainfall but instead, it seems the Greeks poured water in the toilets to flush them out.
Sewer systems in ancient Greece were made out of stone blocks that were lined with cement. These systems were big enough so that someone could go down and clean them. This system though was not entirely effective when there were intense storms. (Angelakis, Koutsoyiannis, Tchobanoglous, 214)
In places, like what is now Santorini, sewage systems were found under paved streets that connect to lavatories. According to Angelakis, Koutsoyiannis, and Tchobanoglous, most common sewers were made of “stone masonry with a rectangular cross-section covered by stone blocks” (217) Greeks also had an understanding of wastewater from bathing and such and used it for agriculture irrigation. Lavatories spaced out over the city with the piping are shown in the image above to the right. (Antoniou,83)
Bibliography
Antoniou, Georgios P. “Ancient Greek Lavatories: Operation with Reused Water.” Ancient Water Technologies, Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, 2010, pp. 67–86.
Angelakis, A.N, et al. “Urban Wastewater and Stormwater Technologies in Ancient Greece.” Water Research (Oxford), vol. 39, no. 1, 2005, pp. 210–220.
Images from readings
Hi, Nice post. I really enjoyed reading your post it wasn’t boding at all. I would add some colored pictures just to make it less intimidating. -Sara
Nice work, the article describes the details of the ancient toilet structure in great detail, combined with the pictures you provided and the introduction of the social context gave me a further understanding of the development of the toilet
Hi! I enjoyed reading about the Ancient Greek system from your research. Your blog post has a very clean and clear layout, with headings and pictures. There’s a minor issue with the bordered section, it was a little unclear where the following paragraph falls under. And it looks like you were trying to include image captions, but it didn’t show. It’s a minor issue but it would be helpful to have those. Overall, nice work!