The Romans were fond of their baths and everywhere they conquered and settled they built remarkable communal baths. These baths were centers of socialization and health treatments and usually consisted of several huge pools of varying temperatures. Their ruins still stand all over Europe and the Mediterranean today. Mr. M and I have seen the remnants of Roman baths from England to Ephesus (Turkey). Everyone has heard about these Roman baths and how ingenious the heating of the caldarium and tepidarium was. But I found that the communal Roman loo (toilet) was really amazing. Yes, communal bathrooms! Those Romans were REALLY social!
The communal toilets were carved out of marble and had maybe a dozen on two adjacent walls of a huge beautifully appointed room. The toilets were ingeniously created and even had continuously running water. A cutaway view shows how a water filled aqueduct under the seats continuously carried away waste.
A peek inside at the original aqueduct
As you can imagine, the continuously running water helped to disguise any noise made by bodily functions. To insure the disguise and to soothe patrons, musicians continuously played on a mosaic dais.
The entire building was filled with marble sculptures and carved bias relief.
The Roman toilet was amazing and its communal and social nature is a far cry from the privacy of current toilets, even in our own homes. I ask you: what do you think of the Roman toilet?