The Ancients – “Roman Toilets” (November 13, 2025)
Host: Tristan Hughes
Guest: Dr. Hannah Platz, Royal Holloway, University of London

Episode Overview

In this uniquely engaging episode, host Tristan Hughes is joined by ancient historian and archaeologist Dr. Hannah Platz to delve into a rarely glamorous, but utterly vital, element of Roman infrastructure: toilets. The discussion navigates archaeology, ancient literary sources, and the lived experience of Romans across class, gender, and region. They tackle everything from the practicality and variety of Roman toilet designs, to the social etiquette in communal latrines, myths about cleanliness, and yes—whether the famous sponge-on-a-stick was really used for wiping. The episode reveals the ingenious adaptability of Roman sanitation and offers a fresh lens on daily life in the ancient world.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Importance of Toilets in Roman Infrastructure

• Toilets were as fundamental as roads, aqueducts, and baths—crucial to urban function and public health ([01:35], [03:25]).
• Designs varied widely across the empire, influenced mainly by geology and local customs ([03:50]–[07:51]).
  • Pompeii: Built on permeable slopes; relied on cesspits, minimal sewage infrastructure.
  • Herculaneum: On impermeable ground; required more thorough sewer systems.
  • Ostia: Flat, high water table necessitated early and extensive sewage networks.
• Quote: "Romans understood the need to deal with their waste according to the geographical situations in which they found themselves." – Dr. Hannah Platz [09:26]

2. Evidence for Roman Toilets: Archaeology and Texts

• Archaeology is central: communal latrines, waste chutes, remnants of upstairs waste pipes, and even marble seating ([11:14]–[12:17]).
• Written sources: Satirical poetry (Martial), moralizing texts (Seneca), agricultural treatises, legislative evidence, and inscriptions ([12:18]–[15:41]).
• Graffiti and epigraphy also illuminate everyday toilet habits (e.g., “The physician of the Emperor Titus crapped here.”) ([16:06]).

3. Spread and Cultural Uptake of Toilets Across the Empire

• Communal and individual toilets proliferated, marking Roman influence ([16:50]–[17:18]).
• Regional differences reflected cultural taboos, especially regarding water and purity:
  • Italy, North Africa: Toilet adoption enthusiastic and early.
  • Britain, Near East: Sparser uptake, sometimes due to religious or cultural taboos about excrement in water ([17:37]–[23:28]).
• Quote: "Religious Jews may have found it particularly difficult... Jewish law dictated that human excrement needed to be buried in a field. So that's where toilets then caused a problem." – Dr. Hannah Platz [21:28]

4. Funding, Status, and Infrastructure

• Communal toilets were typically financed not by public taxes but elite benefaction (“euergotism”), giving rich Romans social capital and political clout ([25:06]–[27:35]).
• Quote: "It was about making a name for yourself so that people will remember you at the time of voting." – Dr. Hannah Platz [27:10]

5. Sensory and Social Realities of the Roman Toilet

• Communal toilets lacked cubicles or partitions; privacy was mainly from the outside, not between users ([28:03]–[31:26]).
• Sensory experiences included:
  • Visual: Lack of barriers enabled open social interaction.
  • Smell: No stench traps; strategies like fresh herbs used only occasionally to mask odors ([33:23]).
  • Touch/Closeness: Users sat in close proximity.
  • Sound: Chatter was common—going to the latrine could be a social experience ([34:50]).
• Quote: "It does seem to be that it was a place where people would sit and have a good old natter." – Dr. Hannah Platz [34:50]

6. Class, Gender and Use

• Wealthy Romans funded, but likely avoided, communal toilets, preferring the privacy of home facilities ([37:09]).
• No conclusive archaeological or written evidence for gender segregation ([37:32]–[39:48]).
  • Elite women especially unlikely to visit communal toilets due to safety and status.
  • Army toilets showed status-based segregation: centurions had private facilities, regular soldiers shared ([40:20]).

7. The Infamous Sponge-on-a-Stick ("Tersorium")

• Legendary, but its actual use is uncertain ([42:22]–[44:34]):
  • Literary sources mention it (Seneca’s gladiator story), but don’t clarify if it was for personal cleaning or cleaning the toilet itself.
  • Other materials used for cleaning included smooth stones, moss, or leaves, especially away from the Mediterranean.
• Quote: "The Latin term, the tersorium, literally means a wiping thing. So it could be to wipe your bottom, but it could be to wipe the toilet." – Dr. Hannah Platz [45:35]

8. Private Toilets and Social Display

• Elite houses and palaces could have luxurious toilets: marble, mosaic floors, hand basins, fountains ([48:38]–[50:45]).
  • Location often near kitchens or in hidden corners, but sometimes ornate to impress visitors.
  • Not all luxury homes had lavish toilets; choice varied.

9. Who Had Home Toilets?

• Not all Romans had in-house facilities:
  • Private toilets were a privilege for the wealthy.
  • Most used communal toilets or chamber pots for nightly needs ([51:51]–[54:09]).
  • Famous literary anecdote: Trimalchio relieves himself at a banquet for comic effect ([53:30]).

10. Hygiene, Handwashing, and Disease

• Romans did not equate handwashing after toilet use with hygiene—instead associated it with ritual purity ([55:11]–[57:06]).
  • Sewers were for aesthetics and convenience, not disease prevention.
  • Only with modern science did the link between waste, water, and disease emerge.
• Quote: "They didn't really understand that notion of bacteria and bacterial diseases... the idea of washing your hands as a means of hygiene was not... the reason why Romans would wash their hands." – Dr. Hannah Platz [55:11]
• Communal toilets could have been disease hotspots: rats, lack of stench traps, shared implements, parasite evidence ([62:22]).
  • Protective symbols sometimes painted to ward off danger from below (e.g., snakes) ([64:19]).

11. Roman Ingenuity and Adaptation

• Critically, the Romans did not employ a one-size-fits-all approach: they adapted sanitation solutions to local conditions and cultures ([65:02]).
• Quote: "It really does highlight that point... it's not a uniform story... And I think that's the brilliance of the Romans, actually. They were quite keen to adapt things and use what worked in certain places." – Dr. Hannah Platz [65:02]
• Everyday hazards included chamber pots emptied from windows above—watch your head walking Roman streets! ([66:31])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On regional adaptation:
  "Romans understood the need to deal with their waste according to the geographical situations in which they found themselves." – Dr. Hannah Platz ([09:26])

• On benefaction:
  "It was about making a name for yourself so that people will remember you at the time of voting." – Dr. Hannah Platz ([27:10])

• On communal toilets as social spaces:
  "It does seem to be that it was a place where people would sit and have a good old natter." – Dr. Hannah Platz ([34:50])

• On the sponge-on-a-stick question:
  "The Latin term, the tersorium, literally means a wiping thing. So it could be to wipe your bottom, but it could be to wipe the toilet." – Dr. Hannah Platz ([45:35])

• On disease and lack of hygiene:
  "They didn't really understand that notion of bacteria and bacterial diseases... the idea of washing your hands as a means of hygiene was not... the reason why Romans would wash their hands." – Dr. Hannah Platz ([55:11])

• On Roman flexibility:
  "They were quite keen to adapt things and use what worked in certain places and what didn't work in other places they wouldn't use." – Dr. Hannah Platz ([65:02])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:35] – Introduction to Roman toilets as infrastructure
• [03:50] – Regional geological/cultural impact on design
• [11:14] – Archaeological vs. textual evidence
• [17:37] – Spread and regional uptake (Italy, North Africa, Britain, Near East)
• [25:06] – Who funded and built communal toilets (benefaction)
• [28:03] – The sensory and social experience of communal toilets
• [33:23] – Efforts to mitigate odors; lack of “stench-traps”
• [37:09] – Who actually used communal toilets; status and gender
• [42:22] – Debunking the sponge-on-a-stick myth
• [48:38] – Private toilets and elite social display
• [51:51] – Everyday Romans: private, communal, and chamber pots
• [55:11] – Hygiene, disease, and Romans’ limited medical understanding
• [62:22] – Toilets as disease hotspots; risks and dangers
• [65:02] – Final thoughts: diversity and adaptability in Roman sanitation

Conclusion

The episode dispels myths about Roman toilets, revealing a complex world shaped by environment, culture, class, and practicality. Far from being uniformly “advanced” or primitive, Roman sanitation reveals both remarkable ingenuity and the real limits of ancient urban life. For all their reputation for engineering triumphs, Roman toilets were as varied—and as essential—as the people who used them.

For anyone curious about the daily life, ingenuity, and the less glamorous realities of ancient Rome, this episode provides a rich and entertaining window into a universal human experience.