Merletto's impressive book gives the background to Roman public toilets, foricae, through a close look at three Hellenistic case studies, and supplies excellent supporting documentation. It is well organised and includes significant findings.
Ten chapters highlight the architecture of public toilets with detailed explorations not included in previous studies. Architectural features of toilets have been noted before, of course, but M. presents some important firsts. The first three chapters are a perfect set-up for the study of foricae. The introduction offers a history of the archaeology of multi-seater toilets, an overview of ancient hygienic practices, clarifications of terminology like latrina and forica, and a consideration of gender use in foricae. For example, now that we know bathhouses were inclusive, not exclusive, of different genders, ages, and classes of people and that women have even been identified as benefactors of them (an inscription in the Baths of Lepcis bears the name of Eirene, 7), it seems fair to conclude that public toilets were also gender neutral. M. explains that her rationale was to study the Hellenistic peristyle-type foricae as precursors to Roman ones by analysing architectural frameworks and construction details to determine the developmental stages of these buildings. It turns out that public toilets were as complex as the more monumental buildings of these periods (9). This observation opens up a wealth of potential new insights.
Ch. 2 focuses on the archaeological evidence for ancient sanitation and notes where the remains exist, thus helping us understand many ancient notions concerning sanitation. It considers forerunners to foricae in Greece and its colonies, in Asia Minor and in the Italian peninsula. Ancient Greek (seventh–fifth century b.c.e.) and Roman urine and faecal containers also receive attention. M. identifies vessels for urine and chamber pots from fragments excavated in the Athenian agora, from images on Attic vases and from pots discovered near urinals in the Circus Maximus. She also cites Greek comedies, Martial, Cassiodorus and Celsus as she interweaves text with archaeology for their identification (15–18).
Water sources, drains and sewers are the focus of ch. 3. We learn the parts of a forica and realise the importance of closely observing the surrounding urban infrastructure and positioning of these buildings to help us grasp the time and energy necessary to build them. While this lesson may seem obvious, when emphasised just before asking how to build a public toilet, as treated in chs 4, 5, and 6, we vividly see that many earlier archaeological projects have not stressed urban context enough. M.'s revelations allow us to consider Roman thinking with regard to many aspects of daily life.
Ch. 4 lays out careful planning and design. The many concerns an architect had to address before he started to build a public toilet are delineated, such as proper siting, thoughtful selection and acquisition of building materials, size of workforce, creating an appropriate building plan, making decisions about the building's foundation, excreta channel, walls, often elegant painted decorations, floors (mosaics or plain ceramic tiles), ceilings, roof tiles and ceiling beams. M. includes features from various excavations seemingly never considered so closely before in earlier scholarship. For example, toilet seats could be constructed of polished marbles or wood, but choices had to be made. There were precise hole diameters for seats, accurately calculated spacing between them, and sometimes fancy armrests. From this evidence we can conclude that well-qualified architects, expert stone workers, sculptors and hydraulic engineers were employed for the construction of the best foricae. Proportionally, therefore, as much time, energy and money were needed to build public toilets as were required for more monumental urban architecture. While this possibility has been noted before by way of studying the luxuries of some Roman public toilets (R. Neudecker, Die Pracht der Latrine, 1994), it had not been applied to these earlier Hellenistic examples.
Seven typologies of foricae are identified in ch. 5, supported by measurements and plans: square or rectangular, peristyle, semicircular, geometric, asymmetric and even undefined or uncertain plans are mentioned. M.'s meticulous tables of data relevant to these typologies, such as geographic distribution, decorative features, and dates of foricae across the ancient Greek and Roman world, contain a vast amount of information in readily accessible form.
Ch. 6 is devoted to how the peristyle forica plan developed, where it was used, and its distinctive features (taken from private house peristylia). As the peristyle toilet plan has not previously received adequate study, M. posits a new idea that as urban populations wanted to see their civic prosperity and power around them in architectural examples (72), perhaps this notion was also relevant to utilitarian architecture, like foricae, particularly in the eastern provinces.
Chs 7, 8, and 9 present the case studies: the foricae along the cardo of Kos in the Dodecanese, the Hadrianic Baths of Lepcis Magna, and in Gortyn on Crete. We learn the historical background and excavation history of each site, precise locations of the foricae within buildings or cities, information on springs, water distribution, drains, plumbing, sewers and building phases. Observations of earlier travellers (e.g. Lepcis Magna, 113 ff.) enhance the presentations of these grand, imposing peristyle foricae. Ch. 10 (171–5) summarises M.'s conclusions with exhaustive citations.
There is a full bibliography; an appendix on ancient earthquakes relevant to the case studies and another on spolia in the forica of Kos; a catalogue of all types of foricae; an index of foricae locations; and lavish plans and photographs. Unfortunately, the book does not have a General Index, which seems crucial for a book of this type. In addition, closer editing was needed, because the multiple errors and frequent repetitions cast doubt on the fine quality of the research. Nevertheless, the scientific treatment here teaches us much about the long-overlooked architecture of foricae. The general public and scholars of archaeology, anthropology, sociology and history alike will find much of interest.
