Everyday Life - Water Supply and Sanitation

• There is abundant evidence for water supply and sanitation: the structures which stored and carried water and the facilities which used water, such as fountains, public and private baths and toilets

• Pompeii and Herculaneum had a good water supply which carried from springs in the Apennine Mountains via a branch of the Augustine Aqueduct

Everyday Life - Water Supply and Sanitation

• In Pompeii the water flowed from the aqueduct into a brick holding tank, the castellum aquae, built on one of the highest points in the town

• From the castellum, water was gravity fed through three large pipes to different parts of the town

• Water was carried to the baths, the public latrines and secondary storage towers which fed more than 40 public fountains in Pompeii

Everyday Life - Water Supply and Sanitation

• Lead pipes beneath the footpaths carried water from the storage towers to all parts of the town

• Some private houses were connected to the pipeline and had running water and flushing toilets

• Most larger houses had cisterns which held rain water collected in the impluvium (The impluvium is the sunken part of the atrium in a Greek or Roman house domus. Designed to carry away the rainwater coming through the compluvium of the roof, it is usually made of marble and placed about 30 cm below the floor of the atrium)

Everyday Life - Water Supply and Sanitation

• In both towns the level of sanitation was high

• Waste water from houses flowed into the streets through terracotta pipes set into wall outlets

• Household waste water and sewerage flowed along the gutters on each side of the street, then into large underground drains

• Public latrines were flushed with water and the sewerage was carried away in drains

• Raised stepping stones allowed pedestrians to cross the streets without getting their feet wet

Everyday Life - Water Supply and Sanitation

• In Herculaneum the terrain sloped down to the sea which assisted water flow and drainage

• Waste water and sewerage were carried away in underground drains

• Streets in Herculaneum did not need stepping stones

Everyday Life - Water Supply and Sanitation