Catiline
07-01-2003, 09:54
Cloaca Maxima
A 'Cloaca Maxima' does a splendid job of dealing with a city's sewage. The original Cloaca Maxima was the first major public sewer in Rome itself. This sewer system is huge: 4.2m high and 3.2m wide. It is vaulted, and paved with blocks of lava; the roof is made from concrete with a brick lining. The original was built to drain the marshy area where the Forum was constructed. It is the main sewage and excess storm water disposal system, emptying directly into the River Tiber. In a city with many public toilets (some seating 100 people) water running underneath the benches flushes away the human waste into major channels that then empty into the Cloaca Maxima, cleansing the city.
A 'Cloaca Maxima' does a splendid job of dealing with a city's sewage. The original Cloaca Maxima was the first major public sewer in Rome itself. This sewer system is huge: 4.2m high and 3.2m wide. It is vaulted, and paved with blocks of lava; the roof is made from concrete with a brick lining. The original was built to drain the marshy area where the Forum was constructed. It is the main sewage and excess storm water disposal system, emptying directly into the River Tiber. In a city with many public toilets (some seating 100 people) water running underneath the benches flushes away the human waste into major channels that then empty into the Cloaca Maxima, cleansing the city.