Roman Toilets Spread Parasites
Posted on 01/08/2016 1:49:16 AM PST by SunkenCiv
The Romans are well known for introducing sanitation technology to Europe around 2,000 years ago, including public multi-seat latrines with washing facilities, sewerage systems, piped drinking water from aqueducts, and heated public baths for washing. Romans also developed laws designed to keep their towns free of excrement and rubbish.
However, new archaeological research has revealed that -- for all their apparently hygienic innovations -- intestinal parasites such as whipworm, roundworm and Entamoeba histolytica dysentery did not decrease as expected in Roman times compared with the preceding Iron Age, they gradually increased...
Dr Piers Mitchell brought together evidence of parasites in ancient latrines, human burials and 'coprolites' -- or fossilised faeces -- as well as in combs and textiles from numerous Roman Period excavations across the Roman Empire.
Not only did certain intestinal parasites appear to increase in prevalence with the coming of the Romans, but Mitchell also found that, despite their famous culture of regular bathing, 'ectoparasites' such as lice and fleas were just as widespread among Romans as in Viking and medieval populations, where bathing was not widely practiced.
(Excerpt) Read more at popular-archaeology.com ...
bump
it took another 1500 years to learn to WASH YOUR HANDS !!!!
...no toilet paper.
No soapy no washy.
Leave it to the French to develop the bidet ... a thousand years hence.
In before they decide that modern sanitary practices cause Global Warming...
Anyways, it makes sense that you didn’t have 100% of the population completely healthy and vermin free. For all of the wonders and modern infrastructure that Rome brought to these regions, you still had basic, near Neolithic standards of living all around.
It did however raise the quality of life for many above caveman standards and set a precedent for modern civilization to admire and follow. The Romans were undeniably brilliant engineers.
Love these posts. Stop making me think a 4AM in the morning - lol!
They should have developed the footbath, too...(straddle the hole)
Sure, they had worms, but they weren’t dead from cholera.
“What have the Romans done for us?”
Win!
“We Jews fought the Romans at Masada; we are here, where are the Romans now?” “You’re looking at them,ax hole”- subreference ping.
Context?
The toilet was invented in Africa. But 1000 years later, the Romans invented the hole.
Closing statement of original article:
“It seems likely that while Roman sanitation may not have made people any healthier, they would probably have smelt better.”
I had come to the same conclusion half way through.
As to the parasites, you can show a traveling or slave barbarbian the baths and public toilets but that doesn’t mean they will use them consistently and drop their ingrained cultural training.
Back in the early 70’s in cosmopolitan Manhattan our design engineering firm occupied several floors in mid-town. For a period of several weeks evidence of an unassimilated phantom appeared in the toilet stalls, the toilet seats an apparent mystery to the user. Among the stains on the seat were footprints.
Eventually a newly hired Pakistani engineer was revealed to be the culprit. University educated, he nevertheless reverted to his native unhygenic practices. He was terminated soon after. He asked for the cause of termination. The answer became a classic catch phrase, “.... Because you’re a shitty engineer.”
Sopranos
That was Tony, man.
He’s got the bolt cutter in one hand, the little fella’s little curlies in the other.
(At first I thought your post was in answer to post #10 lol)
Part of the problem was probably the so-called clean drinking water.
Memo to time travelers: boil water before drinking in most time-places you visit.
weird, but cool and true video ... (I have one)
Oh, I see. That’s a pop-culture phenomenon I missed.
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