11-13-2012, 04:01 AM
Quote:I think Mary Beard made quite a lot of the potentially barf-enducing qualities of Roman baths (no plugholes, so somebody's got to bale out the water once it gets too filthy... gah!)Given that Romans probably used old urine to clean their clothes and dined on rotten fish, they probably had far lower standards for aromatic comfort than we do. With that said, peeing in the pool was probably frowned upon to a far greater degree - although at least it would keep people moving through the bath house!
Then again, modern swimming pools may contain chlorine, but also a lot of... other substances. Future generations may well turn their noses up at our own bathing practices...
(Spartan bathing doesn't sound too bad now...)