The Cloaca Maxima was one of the world's earliest sewage systems. Constructed in ancient Rome in order to drain local marshes and remove the waste of one of the world's most populous cities, it carried an effluent to the River Tiber, which ran beside the city. Cloaca Maxima (1997) is the first compilation album by the Finnish rock group CMX. The name Cloaca Maxima means Great Sewer in Latin, and was also an early name of the band before it was shortened to CMX. The compilation contains three CDs, which are named Physis, Aetheris and Astralis... Sewage is the mainly liquid waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water, faeces, urine, laundry waste and other material which goes down drains and toilets from households and industry. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see City (disambiguation). ... Tiber River in Rome. ...

Map of downtown Rome during the time of the Roman Empire, showing Cloaca Maxima

The name literally means Greatest Sewer. According to tradition it may have been initially constructed around 600 BC under the orders of the king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus.^[1] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 566 pixelsFull resolution (1099 × 777 pixels, file size: 268 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a map of ancient Rome showing a sewer and a aqueduct File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 566 pixelsFull resolution (1099 × 777 pixels, file size: 268 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a map of ancient Rome showing a sewer and a aqueduct File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 650s BC 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC 610s BC - 600s BC - 590s BC 580s BC 570s BC 560s BC 550s BC Events and Trends Fall of the Assyrian Empire and Rise of Babylon 609 BC _ King Josiah... For other uses, see Monarch (disambiguation). ... Lucius Tarquinius Priscus was the legendary fifth King of Rome, said to have reigned from 616 BC to 579 BC. Tarquinius Priscus came from the Etruscan city of Tarquinii and was actually named Lucumo. ...

This public work was largely achieved through the use of Etruscan engineers and large amounts of semi-forced labour from the poorer classes of Roman citizens. Extent of Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. ...

Although Livy describes it as being tunnelled out beneath Rome, he was writing a great deal after the event. From other writings and from the path that it takes, it seems more likely that it was originally an open drain, formed from streams from three of the neighbouring hills, that were channeled through the main Forum and then on to the Tiber.^[2] This open drain would then have been gradually built over, as building space within the city became more valuable. It is possible that both theories are correct, and certainly some of the lower parts of the system suggest that they would have been below ground level even at the time of the supposed construction. A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ... Part of the Roman Forum. ...

There were many branches off from the main sewer, but all seem to be 'official' drains that would have served public toilets, bath-houses and other public buildings. Private residences in Rome, even of the rich, would have relied on some sort of cess-pit arrangement for sewage. See also Septic tank Wastewater treatment Waste management Categories: Move to Wiktionary | Language stubs | Waste | Sewerage ...

View of the interior of the Cloaca Maxima

The Cloaca Maxima was well maintained throughout the life of the Roman Empire and there is evidence to suggest it was still working long after the traditional fall of the Western Empire. In 33 BC it is known to have received an inspection and overhaul from Agrippa, and archaeology reveals several building styles and material from various ages, suggesting that the systems received regular attention. In more recent times, the remaining passages have been connected to the modern-day sewage system, mainly to cope with problems of backwash from the river. ImageMetadata File history File links Cloaca_Maxima_2. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Cloaca_Maxima_2. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC - 30s BC - 20s BC 10s BC 0s 10s 20s Years: 38 BC 37 BC 36 BC 35 BC 34 BC 33 BC 32 BC 31 BC 30 BC 29 BC... Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (c. ... For referencing in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Citing sources. ... Look up Backwash on Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word backwash has a number of meanings: Backwash (physical phenomenon) is the backwards flow of air or water. ...

The Cloaca Maxima was thought to be presided over by the goddess Cloacina. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Outfall of Cloaca Maxima as it appears today.

The Romans are recorded — the veracity of the accounts depending on the case — to have dragged the bodies of a number of people to the sewers rather than give them proper burial, among them the emperor Elagabalus and Saint Sebastian: the latter scene is the subject of a well-known artwork by Lodovico Carracci. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixels, file size: 656 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Roma, Tevere: lo sbocco della Cloaca Maxima by Lalupa File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixels, file size: 656 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Roma, Tevere: lo sbocco della Cloaca Maxima by Lalupa File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... A bust depicting Elagabalus. ... Bold text Sebastian redirects here. ... Bargellini Madonna (1588) Oil on canvas, 282 x 188 cm Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna Ludovico Carracci (April 21, 1555 – November 13, 1619) was an Italian painter, etcher, and printmaker who helped reinvigorate Italian art after Mannerism by founding an academy in Bologna in 1585. ...

The outfall of the Cloaca Maxima into the river Tiber is still visible today near the bridge Ponte Rotto, and near Ponte Palatino. There is a stairway going down to it visible next to the Basilica Julia at the Forum. (Some pictures here, and here.) Some of it is also visible from the surface opposite the church of San Giorgio al Velabro. San Giorgio al Velabro is a basilica church in Rome, devoted to St. ...

See also

• Barrel vault
• Sanitation in Ancient Rome
• Aqueduct (Roman)

Barrel vault In architecture, a barrel vault is an extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. ... // Roman trash was often left to collect in alleys between buildings in the poorer districts of the city. ... Pont du Gard, France, a Roman era aqueduct circa 19 BC. It is one of Frances top tourist attractions at over 1. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cloaca Maxima

• Cloaca Maxima: article in Platner's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome
• Pictures taken from inside the Cloaca Maxima
• The Waters of Rome: "The Cloaca Maxima and the Monumental Manipulation of Water in Archaic Rome" by John N. N. Hopkins

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

Notes

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