Here is another interesting aspect of Roman latrines where in the Valetudinarium ( hospital building ) at Segedunum fort on Hadrian's Wall, there is a latrine in the south west corner for the use of patients so they did not have to leave the building to go to the normal fort latrine.
When I excavated there some 40 years ago it was discovered that in the rooms or wards surrounding the courtyard, there had been pots set into the floor at the centre of these rooms without any bottoms in them and had been placed there so that the patients did not need even have to go to the latrine in the night for urination.
The water supply for this latrine came from the water tank that is fenced off at the top left of the picture, and this tank is indeed a unique system in its own right where it had been a double decked tank of two water tanks one above the other.
It may be a little off from latrines but here is the double deck water tank that supplied the latrine in the Valetudinarium at Segedunum fort.
The square stone built pillars would have supported the upper tank and the reason for the offset of the one in the foreground, is that there was a filtration unit in the bottom south east corner that was removed and never re-built again by archaeologists in excavations.
The centre wall in the tank is made up from the two pillars that stood in the other half of the tank and the two middle square pillars can still be seen in the wall. The filtration unit was a curved wall in the south east corner of the lower tank and the base of its curved wall can still be seen hence the offset of the pillar in the foreground the water from the upper tank would have flowed into this filter unit that was filled with various sizes of pepples all the way to the top of the tank.
[attachment=10294]wassertank1Medium.jpg[/attachment]
Where I have mentioned the water tank this is what happens as a view for the visitors when there is bad weather here in the north of England with much rain, and I think it is about time there was a roof put over it and and a better explanation of just what it is.
[attachment=10295]Watertank11.jpg[/attachment]
Kevin.
This is in fact a shame for this tank is indeed unique but then many other sad things happened at this fort in past excavations, it is what one might call archaeological vandalism.
Without trying to diverse from the thread subject....why does it seem that some sites have more "protection" than others?
Each site had a toilet remember.
Is this due to funds or whoever owns the site?
Lose the site, lose the toilet, now that's no good.
Changing subject slightly.....most Legionary Fortresses have toilets near the rampart. At Caerleon these seem to be uppermost on the slope?
But, rampart means easy drainage, as a military unit on campaign, one is not so worried about saving ones urine to sell on at a later date, but winning battles and ground are more important.
Slight change of subject but.....Cavalry....the horses made more poo and urine more than 1 man could. Just another thing to take into account.
Such a lot of things to think about.
Thank god for Victorian Sewers........lol
Kevin
Quote:..................
Slight change of subject but.....Cavalry....the horses made more poo and urine more than 1 man could. .............
In the marching camps I suspect that the urine wasn't considered too much of an issue; but in the barracks I am sure there would be regular sweeps, removal of earth and spreading of clean. Straw (sic) would also help.
Certainly on campaign and potentially in barracks the dung could well have been dried and kept for extra fuel.
Kevin.
I think the protection of historic sites at times depends upon Curators and local authorities and of course finance, however as can be seen from previous pictures much also depends on a good liaison between archaeologists and whoever does the consolidation at monuments.
In fact to move away from topic again much of the consolidation at Segedunum has been very badly done over the years, indeed as mentioned earlier yet more archaeological vandalism again.
For the Principia courtyard was totally destroyed in earlier consolidation when it was completely removed and dumped, in fact had I not continued for six months complaining the north wall would not have had a gateway into it and would have been completely ringed without any entrance to the building at all.
When we also look at the building in the foreground of this picture we find no rooms whatever in the commanders house, for excavations went on through a winter with snow falling and the whole area had no context levels that could be considered at all hence just a complete blank.
Quote:Certainly on campaign and potentially in barracks the dung could well have been dried and kept for extra fuel.
Hello, Mark
Human excrement and dried horse-buns are two different substances... the latter having a burnable amount of effusal straw. You can't burn human waste in the same manner. Any statement to the contrary is-- quite literally-- a load of crap.
Alan J. Campbell
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
Mark Hygate post=357179 Wrote:Certainly on campaign and potentially in barracks the dung could well have been dried and kept for extra fuel.
Hello, Mark
Human excrement and dried horse-buns are two different substances... the latter having a burnable amount of effusal straw. You can't burn human waste in the same manner. Any statement to the contrary is-- quite literally-- a load of crap.
Sorry Alanus - I was replying to the post in terms of horses only........ I know I'm a bit of a target just now, but I did only mean horse dung in context.
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