Page 15 - 100 Events That Made History

The Great Bath of
Mohenjo-daro in
Sindh, Pakistan, was
probably used to
purify bathers during
religious rituals.

Cleaner cities
The Indus Valley civilization
of modern-day Pakistan and
northwest India was the first
to get serious about sewage.
They constructed public baths,
but many homes also enjoyed a
water supply, well, and a bath. They Pipe dream
even had the first flushing toilets
(but TOILET PAPER was about
3,000 years away in the future!). The world’s first sewage system was

up and FLUSHING in 2500 BCE
Indus Valley
drain

Down the drain
All of this was possible How it changed
because the Indus people As cities expanded,
constructed advanced getting rid of waste became
networks of brick-lined a big deal. Without a proper
underground sewage water system, illness
and disease can
drains that took the waste
spread quickly.
and brought it to a river or the world
cesspool. Separate pipes
brought clean, FRESH
WATER into cities.

Roman relief
The Romans were rather adept when it came to
bathroom matters. They constucted COMMUNAL
BATHROOMS, such as this example in Leptis Magna
(in modern-day Libya). Up to 30 people would use the
bathroom together, without any partitions between
them. A sponge on a stick did the job of toilet paper.
Bathhouse water would flush the waste into sewers.

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