Topic: Where’s the Loo and Where Can I Get a Drink? An Analysis of Private Latrines and Public Water Fountains in Pompeii.

Speaker: Kate Trusler

The meeting will be held virtually.

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Where’s the loo? is a question that even modern tourists to Pompeii frequently wonder. The location of sanitation facilities has important ramifications for function of sanitation systems and management of waste. Several seasons of fieldwork have led to a more precise understanding of private latrines and downpipes in Pompeii. While multi-seat latrines from the Roman world have drawn more interest, private latrines hold a wealth of information about the everyday lives of ancient Romans.  

Drinkable water and the strategies used to get it are at the heart of every sustainable society and Roman Pompeii is no exception. Pompeii’s remarkable water distribution system shapes the very character of the city from its network of water towers to its public fountains. In the summer of 2018, the authors began conducting fieldwork in order to investigate the fountain and water tower system found at Pompeii. Results include updated and more accurate measurements pertaining to the overall volume and construction of the fountains, and detailed accounts of the wear patterns found on the fountain surfaces.

Kate Trusler studies zooarchaeology and paleohydrology (drinking and wastewater management). Dr. Trusler has worked on projects in The Netherlands and Italy with her interests in Roman archaeology as well as projects in Missouri and the Pacific Northwest. Currently, she works for the University of Missouri- Museum of Anthropology as part of their NAGPRA team, specializing in human remains identification and zooarchaeology as well as teaching Biology at the university. Dr. Trusler is also the Director of the Pompeii Water and Sanitation Project and Field School.