Waste and Pollution in the Ancient Roman Empire

Abstract

This article describes select examples of waste management from the Roman Empire (27 BCE to 365 CE). Classical written sources and anthropological and archeological literature were studied. The central theme of this paper is ancient man’s relationship with waste and his responses to pollution.

Transmission of Zoonotic Diseases in the Daily Life of Ancient Pompeii and Herculaneum (79 CE, Italy): A Review of Animal–Human–Environment Interactions through Biological, Historical and Archaeological Sources

“…For example, in Pompeii , buckets containing waste and faecal matter were thrown out of the windows directly onto the street below, where they accumulated and dispersed, favouring the spread of diseases. The installation of stepping-stones documents this fact so that people could cross the street without getting their feet wet [ 225 ] ( Figure 7 a). To keep the streets clean, the aediles —the town authorities—of Herculaneum established a series of prohibitions and orders, such as a ban on throwing garbage on the ground near public drinking fountains.…”

“…To keep the streets clean, the aediles —the town authorities—of Herculaneum established a series of prohibitions and orders, such as a ban on throwing garbage on the ground near public drinking fountains. In an information panel located directly near the fountain, the aediles established sanctions for this violation: citizens had to pay a fine, and slaves had to be flogged [ 225 , 226 ]. However, even the enviable sewers did not guarantee complete health since their maintenance could be insufficient.…”

“…However, even the enviable sewers did not guarantee complete health since their maintenance could be insufficient. For example, Caligula punished Vespasian—still a mere mayor—for not keeping the streets and sewers clean, and Julius Caesar forced citizens to take care of cleaning their streets [ 225 ]. In addition, foricarii and stercorarii were exposed to rats, insects and wastewaters, which frequently stagnated, and at times the same rainwater filled the sewers and cloacae and carried excrement and debris to the surface [ 85 ].…”

The legal protection of environment in ancient Rome

“…It indicates us that the emphyteuta was bound to plant and improve the agricultural land. 16 As we can read in the Novels of Justinian, the emphyteuta might lose all of his rights by damaging the land. 17 It is worth adding that the illegal cutting down of the trees of somebody else realized a private delict.…”

Flint Recycling in the Lower Paleolithic Levant: A Microscopic Investigation of Small Recycled Flakes at Qesem Cave (Israel)

“…In contrast, our ancestors were far from being considered "ecologically noble," or at all sensitive toward the environment and the overconsumption of earth's resources (Amick 2015:14). In order to survive, they deeply exploited environmental resources and objects to the point of exhaustion before discarding them, polluting their surroundings, and creating, sometimes, massive amounts of waste (the classical period of Monte Testaccio in Rome is a clear example: Havlíček and Morcinek 2016). Several ethnographic and archaeological studies have identified the stockpiling of discards as an indicator of reuse and recycling behavior (Bradley 1988;Chang 1991;Kamp 1991;Rathje et al 1992).…”