One of the earlier lavatories is that of Minoa’s gymnasium on Amorgos (Fig. 4.7). It is small in size with the gymnasium at its south west corner, and dated in the mid 4th century B. C. Apart from its surviving roof and the benches on three sides it is also characterized by the large conduit that supplied it with a natural flow of water. The sewerage flowed in the conduit, parallel to the south wall of the Gymnasium. It is dated probably in the end of 4th century B. C. (Marangou, 1986, 1987; Marangou, 2002; Neudecker, 1994). The lavatory is very well preserved, but only half of the monolithic floor still exists. On the other hand the door remained almost intact and only two pieces of the door jamb have fallen down.
The public lavatories of Thera are small in size but abound all over the excavated potion of the ancient city. Despite their public use, they have a small size. Figure 4.15 Shows the location of a small public lavatory in ancient Thera. Even though they were residences, their access was only from the communal space of streets. Only the ditches and sewers have been preserved but not any seats or defecation openings. Possibly they were not constructed of stone. The sewerage was transported through ditches to the streets.
In Delos public lavatories have been found in the Palestras and the Gymnasium. In the Palestra of the Lake (Fig. 4.16), there are three spaces, formed after the rearrangement of the original classical building, that are attributed to that use. The neighbouring smaller and newer Palestra has a lavatory as well. In both buildings lavatories have been placed in the perimeter, and particularly near the path of some drainage. The north-eastern lavatory of the Lake’s Palestra was probably supplied
Fig. 4.15 Location of small public lavatory in ancient Thera (Gaertringen von, 1899-1909)
Fig. 4.16 Reconstructed planview of the palestras on Delos (Chamonard, 1924)
By the water from the bath or even the colonnaded atrium. In the south western part there was probably a small rectangular reservoir in the middle.
The lavatory of Asclipieion in Pergamon is characterized by its ground plan layout, which is more complicated than the usual rectangular form (Fig. 4.8). In the Asclipieion of Kos the lavatory is part of a later extension of the lower perimetric portico towards the west. Here a monolithic reservoir drains water from a small perimetric half pipe for the wash of anoYyKX (sponghia) to the main conduit, providing a type of water reuse within the lavatory.
At the Ventio’s Thermae in Efessos the traditional Greek layout is maintained inside a typical Roman building. It is characterized by the oblong impluvium which is quite monumental for the size of the chamber. The gymnasiun of Philippoi has the typical Greek layout, despite Roman modification of the building. Also the placement resembles the lavatory of Kotyo’s Portico in Epidaurus.
Two public lavatories in Athens that have been preserved date back to the Roman period. They are located in the south-eastern corner of the Attalos’ Stoa and east of the Roman Agora. Both ground plans have a square shape. The Roman market’s lavatory is a mature construction of that period, since it was built after the Agora. Apart from the oblong entrance lobby it is characterized by a deep conduit underneath the benches and the impluvium at the center of the room. According to the surviving parts it had 62 defecation openings, which had corresponding urinal holes on the floor. (Orlandos, 1940, pp. 251-260)
Finally in Epidaurus the lavatory at the east end of Kotyos’ portico possibly could be one of the later buildings of this type in Greece. It has an oblong ground plan and is supplied with a flow of water, most probably from the north-eastern baths. Probably it was built when the portico was partly standing and the poor construction includes stones of other collapsed buildings in the sanctuary. The elongated shallow tank in the middle, made of tiles, has a small sewerage pipe that ends at the main conduit.
Three other Roman examples include the lavatory of Pompei’s palestra, the complex of Triklinon’s in Ostia (Fig. 4.11), and the Largo Argentina lavatory in Rome. The types of buildings were not only spread out around the Mediterranean but also throughout most of the Roman Empire.
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