 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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