Were the Romans clean?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ต.ค. 2024
- We often think of the Romans as very modern and sophisticated, but how hygenic and clean were they? Were Roman cities crowded and filthy slums, or well organised and clearly laid out centres with wide roads, drainage and sewer systems? Where do bath-houses fit within all this - did they make for good health or help to spread infection?
It is good to see a prominent academic in his field, being so active on TH-cam, interacting with the public, and spreading knowledge.
He's really more of a popularising author than an actual academic these days. Not that this invalidates your point.
Was going to bed, now grabbing popcorn. 🙂 Also, thank you for the response! Made my day.
Professor, thank you sharing these programs. You are truly superb in your field, and you bring a lot of practical perspective to the table.
I feel really lucky to be able to “attend” a quality lecture without having to get off the sofa.
Professor, thank you for downloading my these programs. You are truly superb in your field, and you bring a lot of practical perspective to the table.
I feel really lucky to be able to “attend” a quality lecture without having to get off the sofa!
I did have my doubts about Dr. Goldsworthy but not anymore. Balanced, sensible and devoid of sensationalism. Consider me subscribed.
Making popcorn - almost ready to watch. Love this channel all the way in the Philippines!
Would you be able to do some videos on the interactions of the romans vs the gauls / brits / germans please? Battles, trade, takeover!
If I remember right, analysis of the sewers from Pompeii, even the wealthy areas show signs of parasitic worms were prevalent. I think fleas, lice and intestinal parasites were the norm for most people until the advent of modern medicine in the 19th century.
Or IT could be since the City was destroyed maybe the slaves werent alive anymore to Clean it
@@laisphinto6372 So the parasitic worms found in HUMAN intestines magically appeared in the sewers in the period when HUMANS were no longer living and pooping in Pompeii? 🙂
Thank you for this interesting subject.
I heard a historian say that when humans get urbanized the life expectancy goes down - precisely because of hygiene problems and the spread of diseases among people closely co habiting. The life expectancy of people at the height of the Roman empire - ie from Augustus to the beginning of decline was surprisingly low. The urban bath complexes actually facilitated the spread of disease not prevent it as the water was not purified and pathogens spread in them!
Although the Romans had impressive hygiene practices for their time, including public baths, aqueducts, and sewage systems. However, this understanding of cleanliness was primarily based on observation and cultural practices rather than scientific evidence.
This is because they only had a rudimentary grasp of numbers and patterns, which could, at best, be considered an implicit understanding of statistics. They lacked the statistical methods we use today.
Yet statistical analysis is absolutely crucial for modern hygiene studies, even if you don't know the theory. Statistics, for example, found the relationship between lung cancer and tobacco.
These statistical methods have revolutionized our approach to cleanliness and public health, which the Romans lacked.
Statisticaly methods are false and manipulative.
Well, at least they had toilets and ....they did have baths for everyone not just for the rich.
I think we over estimate the hygene of modern folk.
Rome was like a modern city in that there were areas that were definitely clean alongside poorer dirtier areas. There is also plenty of contemporary literary and physical eveidence showing that Rome was a pretty clean ciry for ancient times.
Most of the people in the city of Rome were poor and they lived in SLUMS, my skeletal friend.
Can you please make a video on the history of Roman coinage ? And money lending/ exchange rates thank you
He probably could make
A video about money lending and exchange rates, but I don't see a way he could make a video about that in any reasonable amount of time. For a certain period of time maybe, I know there's writing about how Lucullus reigned in the ruinous interest rates the eastern Mediterranean kingdoms were stuck with paying back war indemnities, but I'm not sure there are many other instances where hard percentages can be readily found for interest. Money lending would be a difficult thing to accurately research because we know it was happening across the entire empire for the entire length of its existence. Even if we had an example explaining something in one year from Italy, that likely doesn't represent examples from gaul, or Antioch, or Britain.
Exchange rates would probably be an easy video though, it exchanges for how much valuable metal each coin has... or it could be an incredibly complicated video if he would get into the inflation caused by minting coins with increasingly lower valuable metal content until the point where coins couldn't be traded at face value because they weren't worth what they were supposed to be worth.
There are absolutely good video ideas in these topics, but they're all far more complicated than I think single videos could do justice.
With the absence of household running water and sewage system
in the Suburra, I lean toward the area as for the most part being filthy and smelly.
Safer to drink wine than water I imagine. A swim in the Tiber could be less than hygenic also. If you weren't dodging turds you'd be bumping into corpses. 'Luvvly jubbly, Rodneyius'.
Somewhare I did read that one of the most striking differences between East* and West was, in the East they made water drinkable brewing tea, in the West adding wine... I'm not sure I agree, tough, because in the East they did know alcoholic drinks too!
*East meaning Eastern Asia, as opposed to the Mediterranean world & Mesopotamia
I have always wondered what was the rate of attrition was for a legion, for example, when on campaign? It's hard not to assume a lot of serious wounds, at the very least, especially considering the close nature of such fighting and the weapons used. The front lines in an army unit are always going take a greater hit, but when encountering archers etc, it's going to impact a large quantity of soldiers. I find it odd that the likes of Alexander were able to venture so far and for long, without ending up with an army almost entirely made of local recruits. When it comes to the Romans, what am I missing?
Hard to say, but I think it was pretty high. I know that Hannibal arrived in Italy with an army of Spanish and Arifican troops. After 16 years of hard fighting, he returned to Carthage with a army mostly composed of Italians. So maybe 5 to 7.5 percent per year.
Modern first-world cities also eat population from the countryside, and increasingly from the third world, while having well below replacement fertility rates. So if that dynamic existed in the Roman Empire, filth was not likely not the primary cause.
Not a fan of the music for end credits thought.
The sponge on a stick was a toilett scrubber... not a COMMUNAL used butt scrubber! Some historians are idiots.
Any evidence of using certain plants to reduce the population of bugs in the rush flooring of barracks? Not that I know if such herbage exists. Did they use cats to help control rodents?
was Rome cleaner than modern India (after de-colonization)?
Probably lol
I think it may be a very good parallel. I was thinking this living in the Philippines. We have modern conveniences, but many near us, squatter areas, have no toilets, no septic tanks, no running water and only risky, stolen electricity. I think much of Ancient Rome was like this.
DO NOT REDEEM
It was definitely cleaner than India. India is a toilet bowl.
I wonder what was the average length of people's live in Rome compared to Medieval cities to lets say the 19th century. Considering epidemics pf cholera and other diseases.
I thought there was a debate over length of life for people of resources who made it to age 30 (basically men I think). Basically it seems to be proponents of one range - 50 to 55 years of age - versus proponents of another range, of 55 to 60 years of age for men. I think for antiquity the statistics on women were maybe impacted by the percentage of women who died at childbirth (although it seems that rate would have to be a bit elevated).
Would be interesting for Adrian Goldsworthy to address this topic in a video.
My imprssion from reading on old & ancient cities as Rome or anywhere is Cities only survived from a constant stream of immigrants from the countryside. Plagues and diseases might cut any Citiy's populations by nine tenths to two thirds any time. Cities were not viable without a massive instream of healthy country people. The very rich could escape & isolate in their country villias. Until Barbarians came. Yes, the Romans as all City dwellers--not rich--were filthy with very high death rates except from the twenties on of the privilaged. .
The modern context of this question should include the policy of the recent Tory government allowing the privatized utilities in the U.K. To discharge untreated human waste into the streams and rivers of Great Britain. So look in the mirror when you criticize other cultures, especially those two thousand years ago.
Why look in the mirror? It seems that practice came off as repugnant to many (at least to people who touched on that subject over the past year).
Roman bath water would have been filthy.
So, Rome was a little cleaner than San Francisco.
ugg
Medieval cities you needed to be careful when walking in the streets or you may become drenched in toilet residues thrown out of the window. Why criticizing the romans they had some services later on after the fall of the roman empire, civilisation did not have anything like that. I think people should stop judging the past with today's ruler.
Some.of that is untrue and a historical myth. In many medieval nations/cities it was common to collect piss and poo. In fact som areas had strong laws against throwing it away. Piss had loads of uses
@@cognitivedisability9864piss was used to tan leather and poo as a fertilizer.
@@cognitivedisability9864I have to expect that getting a chamber pot on the head was great excuse fora brawl. Personally, I suspect it was either rare occurrence or a medieval urban myth