New project, Ancient toilets – a cultural and social history, Kreikkalais-roomalaisten käymälöiden sosiaali- ja kulttuurihistoria in Finnish, is about to start!
Project researcher Dr. Saara Kauppinen begins her work in February 2026, and PI Laura Nissin will join her in April.
The project is generously funded by the Kone Foundation.
Introduction
Toilets are the real treasure troves for researchers of the past. As the authors of the book, Rubbish – the Archaeology of Garbage, state, “garbage is among humanity’s most prodigious physical legacies to those who have yet to be born” (Rathje and Murphy 2001, 4). Waste accumulated in latrines can shed light on ancient lifestyles in a way other contexts are not able to. The architectural and archaeological features of ancient Greek and Roman toilets have been investigated to some extent in the past decades, but there is no in-depth historical study available on ancient sanitation. Additionally, the studies into the material culture of Greek and Roman toilets are based on heavily biased assumptions about the function and smells of ancient latrines. Most of the scholarship on ancient sanitation maintains the belief that Graeco-Roman cities were malodorous due to their reliance on cesspits instead of sewers. The current consensus relies on modern (Western) preferences for sewage by over-emphasizing its role in removing waste from private dwellings. However, the preference for modern sewage systems over historical practices reflects our own values rather than accurately representing those of the past. Additionally, previous scholarship asserts that (human) waste was omnipresent in ancient cities, as people defecated outside and emptied chamber pots in the city streets. Unfortunately, there is no actual evidence to corroborate the dramatic narrative of waste accumulating in the city streets, but these statements are based on generalizations of rather few, superficially interpreted literary passages. Revisiting these assumptions is essential for offering a deeper understanding of historical urban environments and the everyday experiences of the inhabitants of these cities.
Hence, our project will investigate toilets and their role in waste management and sanitation in the ancient Greek and Roman world, from a new perspective, for a holistic comprehension of the sanitation practices of Graeco-Roman antiquity. As such, it will be the first comprehensive historical study of Greek and Roman toilet culture.
The project will undertake a source-critical textual analysis of ancient Greek and Roman literature and epigraphy, investigating the aspects of uses and users of latrines in the association of smellscapes, and other sensory aspects of sanitation, waste management, and socio-spatial and architectural aspects discussed in the texts. The research also asks what kind of values and attitudes the ancient Mediterraneans associated with toilets and ordure, and how (human) waste was managed in the domestic and urban areas and agriculture. Additionally, the uses of ordure in medicine and magic are investigated.
The team
The team consists of two experienced researchers, who will be responsible for their own areas of research. Dr. Laura Nissin (PI) will work with the Latin literature and epigraphy and will also execute the literature review of previous archaeological research. She holds the title of Docent in Latin language and Roman literature and has vast experience in research into ancient cultural history and archaeology of the Roman world. Dr. Saara Kauppinen will work with the Greek material, mainly literature and epigraphy. She will also assist on selecting and reviewing the archaeological research of the Greek sanitation and lavatories. She has a PhD in Greek language and literature, and specializes in Greek epigraphy, but also has vast experience of both Greek and Latin literature, social history, and material aspects of the Graeco-Roman world, including Greek archaeology.
(Reference: Rathje, W. L., and Murphy, C. 2001. Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.)
RESEARCH PLAN