personal hygiene in Rome

[analogmusicman]

does anyone have any info? like,what did the common people do on a daily basis as far as hygiene? did they brush their teeth? was there even a bathroom in your everyday insulae apartment? was there running water in the insulae? I know they threw the contents of the "chamber pot" out the window. was there an open sewer in the street?

 

tnx,

[Kosmo]

In the morning they washed their hands and face in a pot sometimes made from silver. Then the men went to the barber. When entering a house they washed their feet and rub oil on them. Most of them went everyday to the many and huge public baths where they washed their entire body by rubbing olive oil on it then using a metal implement to remove it, there they also swim, exercise, play games, socialize, watch art etc. When eating they wiped their hands or they received pots with perfumed water to wash them. Some of the tasks were done by slaves for those who had them or by specialized people performing a public service (e.g. barbers)

A common insula apartment had no bath or running water.

Rome had a large covered sewer system named Cloaca Maxima from the early days. Aqueducts brought fresh water to the city that was accessed by commoners at the many fountains. That aqueduct water and rain water flushed Cloaca Maxima in the Tiber river.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Kosmo

[Centurion-Macro]

The Romans were always having baths, as it was a good time to socialize. And the Roman rich people always had good baths at their houses to socialize in. As Kozmo says above, the Romans did have a large sewer system. So large infact that apprantely gangs of thieves and bandits used to hide there and sometimes even live there.

[sylla]

Paradoxically, so many social baths might have eventually become a huge epidemiological risk for the City.

 

Greek and Roman doctors usually recommended frequent bathing for many common health conditions, by itself in general terms an excellent advice.

 

The problem was that they essentially lacked our modern concept of infection, so they saw no problem in making both healthy and diseased people bath together.

[Rompe]

Rome had a large covered sewer system named Cloaca Maxima from the early days.

 

I found it very intresting, speaking of the Cloaca Maxima, that especially as you walk around the Forum, you can see sewer covers set around the ground as if they were put in Yesterday. They all (at least the ones I saw) had SPQR inlayed in them. I did not though think of bending down and really studying them at all. They are very much, from what I saw, a lot like todays sewer covers that you find, except square in shape.

 

Does anyone know what metal these were made out of?

[Caius Maxentius]

Rome had a large covered sewer system named Cloaca Maxima from the early days.

 

I found it very intresting, speaking of the Cloaca Maxima, that especially as you walk around the Forum, you can see sewer covers set around the ground as if they were put in Yesterday. They all (at least the ones I saw) had SPQR inlayed in them. I did not though think of bending down and really studying them at all. They are very much, from what I saw, a lot like todays sewer covers that you find, except square in shape.

 

Does anyone know what metal these were made out of?

 

From what I remember when visiting Rome, those ARE modern manhole covers. Apparently, Mussolini (re?)started the practice of putting the SPQR insignia on the covers in the city of Rome.

[Caesar Jr]

Rome had a large covered sewer system named Cloaca Maxima from the early days.

 

I found it very intresting, speaking of the Cloaca Maxima, that especially as you walk around the Forum, you can see sewer covers set around the ground as if they were put in Yesterday. They all (at least the ones I saw) had SPQR inlayed in them. I did not though think of bending down and really studying them at all. They are very much, from what I saw, a lot like todays sewer covers that you find, except square in shape.

 

Does anyone know what metal these were made out of?

 

From what I remember when visiting Rome, those ARE modern manhole covers. Apparently, Mussolini (re?)started the practice of putting the SPQR insignia on the covers in the city of Rome.

 

 

Yes that is correct, but, many cities use SPQ.... for example Liverpool in the UK. To the original , try Ancient Rome on 5 denari a day

Edited November 23, 2009 by Caesar Jr

[Klingan]

does anyone have any info? like,what did the common people do on a daily basis as far as hygiene? did they brush their teeth? was there even a bathroom in your everyday insulae apartment? was there running water in the insulae? I know they threw the contents of the "chamber pot" out the window. was there an open sewer in the street?

 

tnx,

 

Some insulae had a multi seated toilet, but it was rather uncommon. It's actually striking how few toilets we find in Roman cities overall. One reason might be that a public/multi seated toilet wasn't to healthy - the Romans used a (shared!) sponge on a stick instead of toilet paper. It's interesting to see that many such toilets were equipped with altars, allowing the visitors to pray before they using the facilities.

 

On open sewers:

Some cities were equipped with extensive underground sewers but it's a fair guess that most used the "street sewer" system where the high walkways allowed the waste to be gathered and flushed out. We also know that small watercourses were used as sewers (one example can be found in Plin. t.y. epist. X.98).

 

However, the sewer system is highly complex and I would not like to say too much about it right now, as I have no time to do such in a proper manner.

 

 

 

In the morning they washed their hands and face in a pot sometimes made from silver. Then the men went to the barber. When entering a house they washed their feet and rub oil on them. Most of them went everyday to the many and huge public baths where they washed their entire body by rubbing olive oil on it then using a metal implement to remove it, there they also swim, exercise, play games, socialize, watch art etc. When eating they wiped their hands or they received pots with perfumed water to wash them. Some of the tasks were done by slaves for those who had them or by specialized people performing a public service (e.g. barbers)

 

This should apply to upper class people, I can't imagine that the plebs such luxuries as silver pots, feet washing and daily bathing. On the matter of bathing, I am, and have been for some time, of the opinion that we over estimate how often the common romans bathed (based on number of baths in the cities, how large the baths are and how much time a poor person could spend on leisure. (Rome itself may of course be an exception)

 

A common insula apartment had no bath or running water.

There are actually examples of both these phenomena in Ostia, the first ones that come to mind are the so called garden houses and the Serapis Insula. It is also clear that, even as it is true that most insulae didn't have running water, they commonly had build in drains (you can see this is in almost any roman ruin).

 

 

Paradoxically, so many social baths might have eventually become a huge epidemiological risk for the City.

 

Greek and Roman doctors usually recommended frequent bathing for many common health conditions, by itself in general terms an excellent advice.

 

The problem was that they essentially lacked our modern concept of infection, so they saw no problem in making both healthy and diseased people bath together.

 

A very valid point Sylla! This is something that people tend to forget when they're talking about roman bathing.