Water and Wastewater Management Technologies in the Ancient Greek and Roman Civilizations

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of water and wastewater management practices in the ancient Minoan, Greek, and Roman civilizations. The main topics considered are: aqueducts; cisterns and reservoirs; water distribution systems and fountains; and drainage, sewerage systems, and toilets. The ancient technologies were surprisingly modern. The Minoan civilization gave an extraordinary contribution to the development of water and wastewater management practices. Also, most Greek houses had a cistern supplied by rainwater for several purposes (bathing, cleaning, houseplants, domestic animals, etc.) according to the sustainable development paradigm. The construction of an ancient Roman aqueduct was similar in principle to the present day.