CHAPTER V
Synopsis of Chapter. Fall of the Roman Empire—Succeeding Period known as the Dark Ages—Sanitation during the Dark Ages—Beginning of Material Progress in Sanitation—Pilgrimages to Juggernaut—Water Supply to Paris—London Water Supply—Aqueduct of Zempoala, Mexico.
During the period following the fall of Rome, the empire was overrun by barbarians from the north, and the magnificent baths, aqueducts and public edifices reared by the Romans with such painstaking care were suffered to fall into decay. So little in sympathy were the barbarians with the people they conquered and their institutions, that in time the inhabitants of many localities even forgot the uses to which the old works had been put; and had it not been for the Popes the supply of water to the city of Rome would have been cut off completely, while as it was the service was frequently interrupted.
Following the fall of the Roman Empire there was a period of over one thousand years of intellectual darkness, during which no material progress was made; indeed, instead of progress a retrograde movement set in which left a lasting impression on the times. The little spark of knowledge that survived this period burned in the monasteries of the monks, who treasured and kept alive the spark of civilization.
Destroyed Lead Font, Great Plumstead, Norfolk