2. 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
3. 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
4. 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)
5. 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
6. 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
