Mar 16, 2021 | Ancient, History, history, Individual Research (UG), Research, technology |
Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Greek Water Technology
Introduction
Water technology can be found in some of the world’s most ancient societies. They have left behind the basic understanding and workings of the technology that is used to today. In Mesopotamia there are loads of water technology used to make their society function. In studying Mesopotamia we find water tunnels, canals, water clocks and the start of toilet facilities in relation to sanitation water use. In Ancient Greece you get an early look at how toilet facilities function and develop in their society that influenced many other societies.
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Mesopotamia and Greece
Mesopotamia is one of the world’s most ancient societies and has left behind a world to learn about and from. Water technology began because of the development that was happening with agriculture. Mesopotamia deeps roots with water and its power as a resource in their art. In vases from that time water is frequently showcased. Water more than just an element that they used, it was a part of their way of life.
Ancient Greece has influenced our culture abundantly from architecture to water technology. In this society you can look at how water technology works in toilets facilities. There is a difference in how they function in public and private settings in regards to socially and mechanically. This aspect is often compared and contrasted with other societies later on in how they function.
As stated earlier the first use of water technology came from agriculture needs, They needed to provide and maintain a steady source of water. It was needed to irrigate the lands. From here more water technology was developed to fit different needs that they had. To bring water from far distances closer to cities and homes, to tell time, astrological needs and sanitary engineering.
Canals
Artificial canals were created to be used for gardens and parks, to bring water in order to maintain them. After a kingdom moved to Nineveh a canal was built as part of a large water supply system. The large system was built to not only support the agriculture of the city but to sustain the life of it. After studies of the system it’s suspected that it was built in four different phases. In these four phases the Kisiri canal, the Mount Musri canal, the Northern System, and the Khinisi system were developed to support the city. ( Mays, 7) Canals were not only used for agriculture, they also would carry wastewater and rain to the countryside. There are different types of the canals that are built. The first type has walls on the side that are made out of limestone, while the bottom of it’s form is two to three layers of clay. The second type is a U-shaped open drain, made of clay. The last type of canal is joined by clay pipes. (Tamburrino, 39) The layout of canals throughout the city depends on the region of the land that needs to be irrigated and where water needs to be diverted from.
Aqueducts
Aqueducts were made to supply water from springs on the mountain to the city. The first aqueducts were constructed and used in Pergamon.(Mays,14) They were originally made with clay pipes, but as time went on there was a need for more pressure running through the aqueducts. Different materials were brought in to replace the clay pipes to create the pressure that was needed. An example of this material are metal pipes that were made out of the lead.( Mays, 15) These pipes were laid in an excavated bed below the natural soil surface. Aqueducts were originally operated by free surface flow, eventually technology and science further developed and they utilized inverted siphons instead. This would convey water across valleys in aqueducts. Channels supported these aqueducts in moving water from mountains and bringing them closer to cities.(Mays,14)
Water Clocks
Water clocks are an example of water technology that’s purpose is not related to a steady source of water for toilets or agriculture. Instead this technology was used to tell time. It’s use goes back to 1500 B.C. and was also called a clepsydra. Like other water technology it did have a constant flow of water going through. That constant water would go into wedges of the drum, as the wedges were filled up with water it would cause the mechanism to rotate. These rotations would allow them to tell the time.(Mays, 17) Water clocks played a significant role in astronomical calculations that were made during this time period.
Private & Public Greek Toilets
As early as 6500 B.C. there is evidence of the sophisticated water technology that was developed in sanitary engineering. Wastewater facilities and storm-water drainage systems were created. 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 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.
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 distinctions 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.
Greek Sewer Systems
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, evidence suggests 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) Sewage disposal at the time happened in one of three options, “directly into the gutters or canals of a street, towards pits located in the city of the house was close to one of them, and for the houses being next to the city wall, directly out of the city by means of canals regularly spaced along the ramparts.” ( Temburrino,29) In the beginning, there were few houses that had toilet facilities in them. Communal toilet facilities were commonly used.
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” (Angelakis, Koutsoyiannis, and Tchobanoglous, 217)
Tamburrino, Aldo. “Water Technology in Ancient Mesopotamia.” Ancient Water Technologies, Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, 2010, pp. 29–51.
Mays, Larry W. “A Brief History of Water Technology During Antiquity: Before the Romans.” Ancient Water Technologies, Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, 2010, pp. 1–28.
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.
Figure 1: Tamburrino, 44
Figure 2: Mays, 20
Figure 3: Mays, 10
Figure 4: Mays, 9
Figure 5: Tamburrino, 40
Figure 6: Mays, 13
Figure 7: Mays, 18
Figure 8: Antoniou, 75
Figure 9: Antoniou, 71
Figure 10: Antoniou, 83
Mar 14, 2021 | History, history |
Garderobe is a type of toilet that was usually used in the castle. Nobles and kings built privies called garderobes in their castle that were hidden in the thick wall and directly dropped the waste into the moat. Through the development of pipe systems and technology, the position and environment of the garderobes became better and more flexible, and the amounts of the garderobes increased as well. Unfortunately, after years of using the garderobes, it might cause water pollution and bad odors of the moat.
Reviving of Sewage System
People stopped using the sewage system for about a thousand years after Roman culture, and the monastery in England resurrected in extremely organized compounds with rational arrangement and techniques in 1167. For example, they used lead pipes to provide running water, rainwater drainage, settling tanks for purification, and using drainage pipes as well at the same time. Moreover, these sewage systems highly influenced the whole sanitation system all around England, no matter the privies or the public latrines.
Association between Private Bathroom And Wealth
Even though most of English people in London used public bathrooms like latrines in the Medieval, Antiquarians found that London citizens never stop developing to bring the convenience in toilets. And these tries of developments highly depend on their wealthy statues. There is rarely a private Garderobe in the residential houses in Medieval England. However, antiquarians founded a large number of garderobes in old English monasteries and in the ancient establishments of the wealthy landed nobility. Some nobles built toilets in each story, even in each room. And for this purpose, they had to give over one of the principal towers of the castle.
Arrangement and Connection to the Cesspool And Garderobes
At the very start, designers put the garderobes in the secret chambers in the towers at the corners of the castle. In that way, it’s easy to build a connection between the toilets and the moat to help release the excrements from the castle. But for some exceptions, there were also examples to have a garderobes that disposal the wastes into an underground cesspool. In this case, the cesspool needs to be cleaned by servants. In conclusion, there are four typologies of garderobes: (1) fall in cesspit, (2) be conveyed into a moat, (3) breteche-style garderobes, (4) evacuated in different styles. (Figure 2) Through the development of technologies and strategies in drainage and pipe systems, architects built underground sewage to help release the excrements and waste. This development made the arrangement of garderobes more flexible. There are eight types of privies were mentioned by Sabine, which are the followings: (1) within the thickness of castle walls, as in London Tower; (2) within towers; (3) within turrets; (4) within chimneys; (5) within chambers corbelled out over the water of the moats; (6) within chambers on arches over the water; (7) with pipe drains to the moats; and (8) with cesspools to receive their filth. Due to these developments, the using feeling of the toilet also developed. For example, the garderobes within chimneys absorb the heat from the chimneys, which give a warmer environment in the garderobes. In the earlier period, there were no pipes and sewage systems in the castle. This absence of pipe led innovation of the arrangement of garderobes. Due to the gravity, these garderobes could not be arranged in the same vertical level. One way to solve this problem is to stagger the vertical orientation. The other way is to alley in a horizontal way. (Figure 3)
The Weak Point of The Castle vs. The Defending Strategy
Koolhaas and Horn have totally different ideas about the garderobes in defending level. Koolhaas states that garderobes were the weak points of the castle. They are open and directly connect the moat or the cesspool, which gives a good opportunity for the enemy to enter the castle. And Koolhaas gives an example of the siege of Chateau Gaillard, a French soldier climbed into the castle by an unguarded garderobe. Owners of the castle used to add some iron bars to the chutes to prevent the castle from attack by enemy. On the other hand, Horn has a contrast idea. She mentioned the water pollution of the moat. After years of using the garderobes, an unpredictable amount of waste was released to the moat. It has more difficulty to clean and maintain. In that way, the water became disgusting in the moat. There was lots of excrement in the moat with bad smells. The bad situation of moat increased the defense ability of the moat, because nobody wants to swim in this kind of dirty water. However she also points out that the underground cesspool and pipe systems gave an opportunity for prisoners to escape from the castle through the pipe system.
What Garderobes Look like Outside Of The Wall
Latrines were not just used by royalty, high clergy, and nobility, but reached the public sphere in the 1200s. Public latrines and tenant latrines served the masses, but in small numbers compared to the population of people. At most, three latrines would be provided for a large tenement housing block, but also sometimes not at all, in which case, tenants would use one of the public latrines in London. Sixteen latrines in London were mentioned throughout history, one of which being the London Bridge. This of course was due to the fact that the bridge, and many of the other latrines, was built near running water – perfect for the disposal of waste. However, private latrines, belonging to people of nobility or wealth, would system their own running water as a type of open sewer system. This did not come without cost, the waterways to be cleaned required an annual fee for the cleaners. (Trevor, 306-310)
The monetary price was not the only cost to latrines, the stench was cause for complaints and even indictment in many cases. The “nuisances” and complaints of odor and inconvenience were all too common in medieval London, bringing the problems to the city officials and mayors. This common complaint was a result of no centralized sewer or waste management system, as each household or housing group dealt with waste in their individual way, inconsiderate of the effect on passersby and neighbors to the waste. The creative solutions of each household resulted in the accumulation of waste in the public gutters, which as a result, would become backed up with waste. (Trevor, 311-313)
Cesspools, like the one above, remained a common waste disposal system throughout medieval London with the attachment of privies, or outhouses. The matter of cleanliness, more a matter of odor and built up waste, was dealt with by paid privy-cleaners who worked during the night hours. Unfortunately, cesspools used by the poor would be within the same unit as the privy, in which the floor was the only separation between the privy and cesspool below. This led to numerous accidents and deaths. (Huxham, 314-317)
Citizens Poured Waste And Dirty Water Into The Cesspool
History of Cesspool
In the early 1800’s, London’s population was at an all time high with little to no sewage system. An average person defecated and urinated about four ounces of feces a day (Angus, Pg.35), and as one could imagine this caused many problems for the City of London. During this time there were a few sewers that were made mostly of ditches but allowed for rainwater to be caught in it as well. If you were of nobility or the wealthy, one could have a private cesspool. This had many contributing factors that went with it. One could pay to have the waste removed, or they could simply have other cesspools be built. “In the 1840s, Queen Victoria’s principal residence, Windsor Castle, had fifty-three overflowing cesspools inits cellars, and sanitary conditions under Buckingham Palace were so bad that the government suppressed the inspector’s report” (Angus, Pg. 35-36). Unfortunately this was not the case for people that could not afford such luxuries. Many tendons shared one cesspool, and many were never emptied. This caused many issues such as seeping through the cesspool walls and leaking into the surrounding soil as well as even affecting the walls of the homes themselves (Angus, Pg.36). This lead to the question of what are the effects of such living conditions and how is that to shape the future of waste removal.
Removal of Waste
The usage of waste was quite fascinating, “as towns grew, so did urban- rural manure trade” (Angus, pg. 32). This was how many people created sources of income, they would clean out cesspools for a fee, and then later trade to nearby farmers. However, as cities began to grow, such as Cities like London with a million or more people at the time, many farmers could not take on the large amounts of waste that the city was producing.(Angus, Pg. 33). As water became more mainstream, there was a tendency to overflow cesspools which would cause “…many homeowners and builders to connect household drains to public sewers that were supposed to carry only rainwater.” (Angus, PG. 36) or many would dispose of such waste into the street gutters (Geels, Pg.1073). In addition to public cesspools, “Middle and upper class families had in-house privies, where excrements fell down a tube into privy vaults. Cesspools and privy vaults were cleaned by private contractors” (Geels, Pg. 1073). It wasn’t until 1851 when public health hygiene and social order was addressed. This could be majorly contributed to the fact of the epidemics of cholera that struck in the 1830’s (Geels, Pg 1073). It wasn’t until 1842, when Chadwick proposed a plan to streamline manure to farmers with a sewer system that would allow for London to charge for the manure while having it be transported by this new system (Angus, Pg. 41).
Sanitation of Cesspools
Due to the lack of sanitation that cesspools and lack of a sewer system, many people living in poverty were likely to fall ill more frequently. In 1842, Edwin Chadwick wrote a report The Sanitary Condition of the Laboring Population, this highlighted the conditions in which poorer neighborhoods as well as health conditions they may face as well. (Angus, Pg. 39). Chadwick research led him to believe that the illness was not caused by physical contact, but “illness was caused by miasma, the foul air emitted by rotting organic matter” (Angus, Pg. 40). He proposed the following solutions, every dwelling has a water closet and is able to revive freshwater and take waste away from the city itself (Angus, Pg. 41). However, this proposal was passed on and in 1847, 30,000 people were killed due to a typhus epidemic. It wasn’t until the 1850’s weather water closets and houses with running water were in homes (Angus, Pg. 50).
Huxham, Trevor. Garderobe, Tower of London, 06 June 2018. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ferrariguy90/3388183916
MOLA. Secrets of the cesspit: Courtauld excavation reveals remnants of 15th century residence, MOLA. https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/secrets-cesspit-courtauld-excavation-reveals-remnants-15th-century-residence
Sabine, Ernest L. “Latrines and Cesspools of Mediaeval London.” Speculum 9.3 (1934): 303-21. Web.
Koolhaas, Rem. “Elements”. Toilets. (2014): 12-33.
Horn, Julie L. “The Porcelain God – A Social History of Toilets.” The Middle Ages: Sir Lancelot’s Toilet. (2000): 21-42.
Angus, Ian. Cesspols, Sewage, and Social Murder: Environmental Crisis and Metabolic Rift in Nineteenth-Century London.
Geels, Frank W. The Hygenic Transition from Cesspools to Sewer Systems (1840-1930): The Dynamics of Regime Transformation
Feb 1, 2021 | History, history, mediaeval, Research |
Garderobe is a type of toilet that was usually used in the castle. Nobles and kings built privies called garderobes in their castle that were hidden in the thick wall and directly dropped the waste into the moat. Through the development of pipe systems and technology, the position and environment of the garderobes became better and more flexible, and the amounts of the garderobes increased as well. Unfortunately, after years of using the garderobes, it might cause water pollution and bad odors of the moat.
- Reviving of Sewage Systems
Sewage systems in the monastery at Canterbury, England
People stoped using sewage system for about a thousand years after Roman culture, and the monastery in England resurrected in extremely organized compounds with rational arrangement and techniques in 1167. For example, they used lead pipes to provide running water, rainwater drainage, settling tanks for purification, and using drainage pipes as well at the same time. Moreover, these sewage system highly influenced the whole sanitation system all around the England, no matter the privies or the public latrines.
- Association between Private Bathroom And Wealth
Garderobes details
Garderobes located in the corner of tower in Castle
Even though most of English people in London used public bathrooms like latrines in the Medieval, Antiquarians found that London citizens never stop developing to bring the convenience in toilets. And these tries of developments highly depend on their wealthy statues. There is rarely a private Garderobe in the residential houses in Medieval England. However, antiquarians founded a large number of garderobes in old English monasteries and in the ancient establishments of the wealthy landed nobility. Some nobles built toilets in each story, even in each room. And for this purpose, they had to give over one of the principal towers of the castle.
- Arrangement and connection to the cesspools of Garderobes
At the very start, designers put the garderobes in the secret chambers in the towers at the corners of the castle. In that way, it’s easy to build a connection between the toilets and the moat to help release the excrements from the castle. But for some exceptions, there were also examples to have a garderobes that disposal the wastes into an underground cesspool. In this case, the cesspool needs to be cleaned by servants. In conclusion, there are four typologies of garderobes: (1) fall in cesspit, (2) be conveyed into a moat, (3) breteche-style garderobes, (4) evacuated in different styles. (Figure 2) Through the development of technologies and strategies in drainage and pipe systems, architects built underground sewage to help release the excrements and waste. This development made the arrangement of garderobes more flexible. There are eight types of privies were mentioned by Sabine, which are the followings: (1) within the thickness of castle walls, as in London Tower; (2) within towers; (3) within turrets; (4) within chimneys; (5) within chambers corbelled out over the water of the moats; (6) within chambers on arches over the water; (7) with pipe drains to the moats; and (8) with cesspools to receive their filth. Due to these developments, the using feeling of the toilet also developed. For example, the garderobes within chimneys absorb the heat from the chimneys, which give a warmer environment in the garderobes. In the earlier period, there were no pipes and sewage systems in the castle. This absence of pipe led innovation of the arrangement of garderobes. Due to the gravity, these garderobes could not be arranged in the same vertical level. One way to solve this problem is to stagger the vertical orientation. The other way is to alley in a horizontal way. (Figure 3)
- The Weak Point Of The Castle vs. The Defending Strategy
Koolhaas and Horn have totally different ideas about the garderobes in defending level. Koolhaas states that garderobes were the weak points of the castle. They are open and directly connect the moat or the cesspool, which gives a good opportunity for the enemy to enter the castle. And Koolhaas gives an example of the siege of Chateau Gaillard, a French soldier climbed into the castle by an unguarded garderobe. Owners of the castle used to add some iron bars to the chutes to prevent the castle from attack by enemy. On the other hand, Horn has a contrast idea. She mentioned the water pollution of the moat. After years of using the garderobes, an unpredictable amount of waste was released to the moat. It has more difficulty to clean and maintain. In that way, the water became disgusting in the moat. There was lots of excrement in the moat with bad smells. The bad situation of moat increased the defense ability of the moat, because nobody wants to swim in this kind of dirty water. However she also points out that the underground cesspool and pipe systems gave an opportunity for prisoners to escape from the castle through the pipe system. Bibliography Sabine, Ernest L. “Latrines and Cesspools of Mediaeval London.” Speculum 9.3 (1934): 303-21. Web. Koolhaas, Rem. “Elements”. Toilets. (2014): 12-33. Horn, Julie L. “The Porcelain God – A Social History of Toilets.” The Middle Ages: Sir Lancelot’s Toilet. (2000): 21-42.
