 Pompeii's Plumbing
Staff and students on
an Anglo-American project in Pompeii have dug up a stretch of lead
pipe in a search for the city's water pipes.
Bradford-based
Anglo-American Project in Pompeii (AAPP) has shown that in ancient
Pompeii, the water pipes supplied street fountains, which most
people had to use. Only the richest citizens had water piped into
their houses, feeding baths, fountains and even private swimming
pools.
Pompeii
Field School students Elaine Moran and Mike Tanner excavating a
section of lead pipe that was used as part of the city's water
system.
Dr Rick Jones of the
University's Archaeological Sciences Department said, "The lead
pipes were buried into the sidewalks along the streets, but most of
them have been lost over the centuries. It was exciting to find two
metres of piping still there under the paving stones. No-one had
shifted these massive stones to get the lead out."
The AAPP has also revealed that
every property in the city block had its own indoor toilet, emptying
into a cesspit.
Rick said, "Bradford's
interdisciplinary scientific approach is showing how everyday Romans
lived - what they ate and what parasites they had in their
intestines. "Even at such a famous site as Pompeii, we're making
exciting discoveries that couldn't be imagined by earlier
archaeologists."
18
March 2003
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