Toilet History – The Roman Flush Toilet

Toilet History – Roman Flush Toilets

If you happen to be in Turkey, it’s worth checking out the superbly preserved Roman City of Ephesus, which is located near the Aegean Coast of Turkey – just for the Toilet History Facts! Ephesus is a good excuse to wander around a great example of Roman architecture, and dare I say it, it’s one of the best preserved examples of the decadent Roman Empire – possibly just as good or even better than some ruins in Rome itself!

Ephesus gives a fascinating insight into what life was like – including what Roman men got up to on their time off engaging in The World’s Oldest Profession! As mentioned in this post, the effect of testosterone on men hasn’t changed in thousands of years!

But there is another great aspect of this old Roman city that pays homage to Toilet History – the Roman Flush Toilets, as seen below.

There was nothing like toilet seat lids in those days – one had to plant their backside on some cold rock. If you were lucky, sometimes someone would warm your special seat on the throne to prevent you from contracting hypothermia via your bum!

However, these toilets automatically flushed – that is, a creek was located underneath them so that thousands of Mr Hanky’s could be sent further downstream to be lost forever at sea – somewhere!

Because of this, I found the origins of the Ephesus communal crap-house fascinating, consisting of a number of holes chiselled out of granite benches that transported Roman turds down the river to most likely unhappy low-income areas.

So there is your dodgy dose of Toilet History for the day! Where a load of crap, actually makes sense!

More Toilet History Stuff

If you’ve all of sudden become a Toilet History aficionado, see more at Quick Guide Ephesus and The Porcelain God: A Social History of the Toilet.