A Report on the quality of the Roman Publics Health
A Report on the quality of the
Roman Publics Health
By Andrew Eustace
Introduction
This report is about the public health of the Romans. In this report I will try to make a conclusion to the question posed, how good is the health of the Roman public?
Public health facilities
The facilities of the Romans are generally well thought out and built extremely well. The first topic of the Romans health facilities that I will touch upon is the water supplies. The water is diverted from a spring to an aqueduct that is specially built to transport the water. These constructions carry the water from the spring's top different destinations. The aqueducts are posted all over the countries populated by the Romans. Thirty metre tall arches have been built, which supports the water channels, quickly and efficiently using stone by hundreds of Roman men. Not all of the aqueducts have been built that they are raised above the ground.
Much of the water in Roman Britain is supplied in aqueduct-contoured channels. These are dug into the ground up to one meter deep, one point six meters wide and more than eight miles long. These constructions carry the water from the spring's top different destinations. The aqueducts are posted all over the countries populated by the Romans. The aqueducts are best when they are built up high as this stops contamination of the water due to animals, plants and other sources. The aqueducts have been well thought out as many of them have been lined with clay to stop leakage occurring.
They can transport millions of gallons of water each day, quickly, safely and easily without labour. They have been constructed with thought and work exceedingly well.
When the aqueducts reach their destinations, usually large towns or cities, they deposit their loads into a specially built reservoir, which contained the water before being distributed. From the reservoir the water is transported using an ingenious method, lead piping is used. [Assuming that the reporter did not know about lead poisoning.] This way the water is taken from the reservoir via a sealed and protected pipe without the problem of tampering.
The water is then distributed in the following percentages. Twenty five percent is piped to official buildings. Seventeen percent of the water goes to the ...
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When the aqueducts reach their destinations, usually large towns or cities, they deposit their loads into a specially built reservoir, which contained the water before being distributed. From the reservoir the water is transported using an ingenious method, lead piping is used. [Assuming that the reporter did not know about lead poisoning.] This way the water is taken from the reservoir via a sealed and protected pipe without the problem of tampering.
The water is then distributed in the following percentages. Twenty five percent is piped to official buildings. Seventeen percent of the water goes to the Emperor. Thirteen percent is transported to systems and fountains of public use. Four percent is piped to public buildings baths and fountains used by the public. Three percent of the water goes to the military barracks. And a large quantity of thirty eight percent of the water goes to private people [houses and industries].
In this case, I can report that the water is transported very unevenly and unfairly. The public only have the use of seventeen percent of the water.
The only redeeming feature that is offered is that when the level of water drops below seven inches in the mains, the water supply to the private houses would automatically be cut off. Unfortunately, the public should still have a greater percentage of water for their uses.
The water from the reservoir goes through the network of systems in a particular and well thought of way.
From the reservoir, much of the water is distributed around private laces, which are not used by the public. Thirteen percent of the water goes to the cisterns and public fountains and from there meets with the sewers [explained later]. The percentage of water for the public baths is transported there for public use. When the water was emptied from the baths, in many cases it then goes to the latrines [also explained later]. This way the water has a type of recycling and is used twice. The water from the latrines of course then empties into the sewers. This is a very good way to reuse the water.
I feel that the water supplies are well transported and kept clean for good health but are not equally shared out.
Baths
Many of the Romans use the baths each day to clean themselves. As many as five hundred Romans use the public baths each day, which is very commendable. This shows that the Romans have a good sense of hygiene and keep healthy. This is a very good way to keep cleanliness. These baths help people rid themselves of fleas, which carry disease.
To enter the public baths it only costs quadrans, this is very reasonable and a price worth paying to keep healthy.
Latrines
The Romans have public toilets called latrines. Going to the toilet is a very sociable occasion and when in the latrines you can speak with other latrine goers. The latrines usually consist of two benches opposite each other in an enclosed room. There are a number of holes in the benches that are used to sit on to go to the toilet. The latrines can seat up to twenty people at a time. Cubicles are extremely rare. Down the middle of the room, in a type of drain, runs water, piped from latrines. You can wash hand in the running water provided and is a good idea so that hands can be kept clean. In a bowl in the middle of the room lie sponges on sticks in the bowl. These implements are used to clean certain areas once the job has been completed. These implements can be reused as they are cleaned after each use.
The latrines are very well invented and going to the toilet can become a more sociable occasion rather than a chore. The cleaning implements are good ideas but I am not completely sure whether illness can be caught in the sharing of them.
Drains and sewers
Many drains and sewers have been constructed in towns, cities and other large settlements. These are to take away wastewater and the excrements from the latrines. The drains are built underneath the ground are constructed to a very substantial form. Made out of stone, which has a timber lining.
Some of the main sewers collected the water from the public bath and recycled it at the latrines. The entire waste waster eventually found its way to rivers or the sea through the sewers and the drains. This is quite a complex system and is very advanced for people of our time. It takes the unhealthy water out of the public's way and deposits it into the open sea that is not used by humans.
The invention of drains and sewers must be one of the best inventions so far by the Romans and is extremely good
Settlement positions
The position of the Roman settlements has certainly been chosen with care. The settlements have been placed away from marshland. This is done for the public health, as the reasoning is that there are ting insects in the marshes, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. If the settlements are too near the marshland then the settlements will become infested with the insects, which that carry disease, and would therefore cause illness. This is for the best interests of the health of the public.
The settlements are also placed at the foot of a wooded hill as the winds which come through the trees in the wooded hill are health giving.
Battle forts have been built up on high land. The advantage of this in an attack is that it is much harder for the enemy to travel up a hill rather than down a hill and has many more advantages in the case of an attack.
Public health is very important because of the little knowledge about disease. As the causes of disease and cures for disease and illness are not very vast then when somebody becomes ill then it is usually only luck, which helps them recover.
Overall, I feel that the Romans are trying their best to keep public health to the highest standards possible. The construction of the buildings, aqueducts, baths, lavines, drains, sewers and other public conveniences are well thought out, made to be substantial and have the health of the public at heart. To the best of our knowledge, the equipment used is clean and has no way of causing illness or transferring illness.
The percentage of the clean water to the public is far too low and I would be keen to see an increase of water supplies so that there is no need for want.
All in all, construction is excellent, it is very well built and, all except the amount of water for the public, it is fair.
Out of ten, I would present the Romans public health with a satisfactory eight.
