· THE · WOMEN'S · BATHS · POMPEII ·
CHAPTER III
Synopsis of Chapter. Early Sewage Disposal—Removal of Offensive Materials from Temples of Jerusalem—Sewage System of a Pre-Babylonian City—Sewers of Rome—The Cloaca Maxima—The Dejecti Effusive Act.
Before describing the sewerage system of Rome, it might be interesting to glance backward at the efforts made prior to that time to dispose of excreta and household wastes.
It is in Deuteronomy, one of the Books of Moses, that first mention is made of the disposal of excreta: "Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad.
"And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shall turn back and cover that which cometh from thee."