The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy by Ann Olga Koloski-Ostro

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Book Review by Guy

The young student many times begins his or her studies of ancient Rome by learning only about the famous personalities, the pivotal dates, and the crucial battles. This might leave the student with the sterile impression that the ancient history of Rome was only about shining marble buildings, clean tidy roads, great orators, conquering generals, countless decadent emperors, and innumerable grand monuments.

 

Too often, the mud and the grime, the pungent and putrid odors, the deafening noise from the crowded bustling streets, the many foreign tongues heard at the busy markets, and the sounds and confusion of any major ancient city are forgotten. Only later the student might want to learn the true nitty-gritty of everyday life for the ordinary resident of Rome.

 

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