Sewer History: Photos and Graphics


	Knee and t-joints made about 4000 B.C. Found in the excavation of the Temple of Bel at Nippur, Babylonia. Pipe was made of baked clay. Babylonia is often referred to as the birthplace of pipe. Source: Cast Iron Pipe, Standard Specifications Dimensions and Weights (Burlington, New Jersey: United States Cast Iron Pipe & Foundry Co.,1914), p. 13.
	The first aqueducts in the form of tunnels or "qanats" originated in ancient Persia (Iran) probably as early as the fourth millennium B.C. Their purpose was to bring water from the foothills of the northern mountains to the southern plains region for irrigation and domestic use. This photo was taken in 1990 in the deserted village of Tanuf in Oman. Source: "A historical perspective on the development of urban water systems," by William James, Professor of Water Resources Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario,Canada.
	An archeaologist digs through the ruins of ancient Babylon and encounters a sewer pipe. Source: U.S. National Archives.
	Drain in guardroom, Eshnunna (modern-day Iraq). Source: unknown.
	Vaulted brick drain, Eshnunna. (modern-day Iraq). Source: unknown.
	Euphrates sewer line. Source: unknown.
Turkey
The Anatolian peninsula (also called Asia Minor), comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest continually inhabited regions in the world due to its location at the intersection of Asia and Europe. The earliest Neolithic settlements in the area are considered to be among the earliest human settlements in the world. The first major empire in the area was that of the Hittites, from the 18th through the 13th century BCE. Subsequently, the Phrygians, an Indo-European people, achieved ascendancy until their kingdom was destroyed by the Cimmerians in the 7th century BCE. Western Anatolia was meanwhile settled by the Ionians, one of the ancient Greek peoples. The entire area was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire during the 6th and 5th centuries and later fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BCE. Anatolia was subsequently divided into a number of small Hellenistic kingdoms, all of which had succumbed to Rome by the mid-1st century BCE. In 324 CE, the Roman emperor Constantine I chose Byzantium to be the new capital of the Roman Empire, renaming it Constantinople (now Istanbul). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it became the capital of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. - Wikipedia
For Reference	Roman Water Systems in South-central Turkey, by Roger D. Hansen, waterhistory.org
For Reference	Reconstructions of the famous Roman baths of Zeuxippos in Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
	A large number of clay water pipes in the ruined city of Ephesus (near modern Selcuk, on the west coast of Turkey). Most pipes are still in the ground. The first buildings in Ephesus were constructed in 2000 BCE, and it grew into a large town by about 1000 BCE. In the richer section of town, houses had cold and hot running water (in winter) and closed sewage disposal to the lower section of town where there were large public toilet facilities (across from the famous library) which were continually flushed with the "grey" water of the houses. That waste did not run into the clay pipes but in covered stone-block canals. (Information provided by Frans Lamers.) Photo date 2005. Source: Frans Lamers, Costa Rica.
	Roman-era row of toilets in Ephesus, Turkey, from 1st century CE. Photo date 1998. Source: Steve Harding, Pima County Wastewater Management Department, Tucson, Arizona.
	Roman-era toilets in Ephesus, Turkey. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	Roman baths in Ephesus, Turkey. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	Roman baths in Ephesus, Turkey. The raised flooring here in the Roman baths required several huge furnaces for heating. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	Roman bath furnaces in Ephesus, Turkey. These furnaces heated the raised flooring in the Roman baths. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	Baths in Aphrodisias, Turkey. Part of the Baths of Hadrian. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html
	Baths in Aphrodisias, Turkey. Part of the Baths of Hadrian. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	Drains in Priene, Turkey. One of the things that made Roman civilization great was superior drains. This channel running down the street may look simple; but it's part of the secret of Roman success. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	Drain in Didyma, Turkey. Roman plumbing: a joint for distributing water into various channels. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	The most spectacular sight in Phaselis, Turkey, is the last leg of the aqueduct which supplied the city. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	Baths in Phaselis, Turkey. Photo date 2002. Source: Used with permission of Prof. Paul Brians, Department of English, Washington State University. See http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xworldciv.html.
	Roman baths at the ruins of Olympos, Turkey. Source: Radoslaw BotevWikimedia Commons.