The Rise of Abhorrent Waste
That there was so much literature on the subject of manure, produced
both before and during the Roman period, highlights that animal ‘waste’ was
unquestionably valuable to the rural economy. The same was not true for the urban
population however. For whilst waste is
an important fertilizer, it is also a source of disease and internal parasites
– both of which spread rapidly within towns.
The Roman authorities sought to deal with the issue of waste by
constructing a monumental sewerage system, the Cloaca Maxima. This has been the focus of Dr Mark
Bradley’s research. He can be seen on the left descending into the Cloaca
Maxima so that he might bring back the knowledge that he has made available
here in the next few slides.
The above image sourced
with permission from Mark Bradley (2006)