by Ellen Leier
All photos are by the author unless specified otherwise.
Introduction
The Cloaca Maxima, literally translating to Greatest Sewer, was the largest and most famous drainage system in Rome and remains the oldest sewer in the world (Figure 1). It has had a long and storied past, from an open canal to the massive underground system of passages that we can observe and utilize today. The Romans revolutionized the sewer with its construction and maintenance and overcame challenges and time itself to keep it intact almost 2500 years after its initial construction.
What Came Before: A Brief History of Drainage
Cities have always needed to control the water around them to thrive. When water is able to flow through streets freely, things are waterlogged, flooded, and destroyed. No society wants these things to happen to the infrastructure and possessions that they have worked so hard to build and earn. Control is necessary to maintain power and residency in an organized society. The very first proper sewage system was created around 3000 BCE (Figure 2) both in Crete, an island in present-day Greece, with the Minoan people, and in present-day Pakistan with the Harappan society (De Feo et al., 2014).
Simple street drains had been constructed previously, but the Minoans elaborated greatly on the concept. The Minoans were deeply concerned with sanitation as it relates to water, carefully and thoughtfully manipulating their stormwater and sewage. They used pipes to transport the water from the streets and revolutionarily handled human waste in their drainage system. They even had some toilets in the homes of the wealthiest citizens that could be flushed with help from a jar of water (De Feo et al., 2014).
In the Harappan cities, they constructed a similarly advanced drainage system as the Minoans did. They had both centralized and more isolated sewer systems, depending on the isolation of the structure itself. As Figure 3 displays, the approach to this disposal of waste from the homes of the Harappan was quite advanced, connecting the toilets with the bathing rooms, which emptied into the U-shaped drain in the street below, which was then brought away from the property (De Feo et al., 2014).
As China and Egypt developed larger urban settlements, they also constructed more sophisticated drainage systems in their streets and homes. The Egyptians built pipes from clay and eventually copper. The Etruscans, Rome’s neighbor, sometimes friend, and former conqueror, had rudimentary drainage systems of their own. Their streets were lined with drainage channels that were cleverly sloped to increase the flow of water.
The Hellenes, present-day Greeks, greatly valued their water clarity for religious reasons. They transported stormwater and human waste to a basin outside of the city which was then distributed through brick conduits into nearby fields to be used as fertilizer (De Feo et al., 2014). It has been theorized that this system of irrigation contributed to the Plague of Athens from 430-426 BC and led to the downfall of Classical Greece (Retief et al., 1998).
Cloaca Maxima Origins and Construction
The Cloaca Maxima began as a small river that was then altered by the Etruscans into a larger canal. When Rome freed itself from Etruscan rule, it took over the Cloaca and continued its legacy. When the Romans started building the Cloaca that we know today in the sixth century BCE, they used a technique that was not seen in any other canals or sewer systems in the region. They decided to create a stone-lined canal, while their neighbors were using clay and gravel to solidify their channels. These other, simpler techniques were much easier and just as effective as the Roman’s idea but were not nearly as impressive. The Romans wanted this construction to be a monument to those who built it and thus opted for this much more challenging but grander method of construction (De Feo et al., 2014).
The canal was lined with large blocks of tufa and large lava pentagons were placed on the bottom (Drusiani et al., 2014). This new building technique was very difficult for Roman workers to perform. The large rocks being used were very hard to transport and handle. The workers who were forced to do the construction hated it so much that many committed suicide to avoid performing the tasks. The king of Rome at the time, Superbus, instituted crucifixions of the workers who killed themselves to be placed at the construction sites, deterring the remaining workers from following in their footsteps (Hopkins, 2007).
While the canal was being updated, there were plans made to drain the open swampy area that would become the Roman Forum that we know today. The area was filled in with various types of debris and the excess water was funneled into the Cloaca Maxima and out into the Tiber River (De Feo et al., 2014). This project was very successful. It stabilized the land enough for the Romans to build their great meeting place and forever changed the typography of the city (Hopkins, 2007).
The Cloaca Maxima, once it was completed, was used all along its path to its maximum potential. The canal, which was soon covered and eventually buried underground (Hopkins, 2007), was used for cleaning the streets, preventing flooding, and carrying away the used water from the fountains and public baths. The sewer played a hugely important role in day-to-day Roman life.
Frontinus, the commissioner for the Roman empire, said, “I desire that nobody shall conduct away any excess water without having received my permission or that of my representatives, for it is necessary that a part of the supply flowing from the water-castles shall be utilized not only for cleaning our city, but also for flushing the sewers” (De Feo et al., 2014). With this declaration, Frontinus demonstrates the importance of water in Rome for the sanitation of the streets and the sewer. The Cloaca was a respected entity and it had to be kept just as clean as the ground the Romans walked on.
A drainage system of this kind was hugely necessary in Rome. Not only did it make the formerly marshy areas newly inhabitable, but it also partially controlled the flooding of the Tiber (Drusiani et al., 2014), which was later contained by massive embankments. The drained swamps helped ebb the spread of disease that had festered and thrived in the wet environment. Control over the water that had previously been the adversary in a constant power struggle for the land of Rome allowed for the expansion of the city and better health for its citizens (Drusiani et al., 2014).
The Cloaca Maxima may have been the first and the largest, but there are many cloacae in Rome (Figure 4). These other drains aided the Cloaca Maxima in keeping Rome clean and dry. Many cloacae throughout Rome are still in use while others have been shut down due to structural issues or other signs of damage. Figures 5 and 6 display the comparative size of the Cloaca Maxima and another cloaca just down the river. The Cloaca Maxima is given a giant arch to mark its exit into the Tiber while the other is given nothing at all to distinguish itself from the massive embankment it comes through. Both openings are about the same size, as can be seen in Figure 13, but the Maxima is given a grand arch to mark its importance and history.
The Cloaca Maxima’s original path was largely maintained over the years. Figure 4 illustrates how angled and irregular the Maxima’s path is compared to the other cloacae in the city. The Romans presented themselves with many engineering challenges while trying to keep the course that the Cloaca originally flowed through. The water, going around these corners, moved very fast and caused instability in the structure as it sloshed around the sides of the channels (Hopkins 2012). The Romans solved this problem by expanding the size of the tunnels and by carrying out continuous repair efforts.
Flowing Water and Ancient Rome
Flowing water was very important in ancient Rome. Not only was moving water cleaner than still water, but it also had religious importance to the Romans. The water of the Cloaca, and other ancient streams, was seen as living and therefore sacred and not to be altered without appeasement to the gods (Hopkins 2012).
The Cloaca Maxima was one of the first and most important pieces of Roman infrastructure. The Roman Empire developed after the Cloaca Maxima had already been built and had been in use for hundreds of years. The antiquity of the sewer gained respect from the Romans (Hopkins, 2012). The Cloaca represented how old and grand Rome was (De Feo et al., 2014). The Cloaca Maxima was also built without Greek or other foreign influence, making it completely Roman (Hopkins, 2012). This was a major source of pride for Roman leaders and led to the Cloaca being well-maintained and revered.
The word cloaca, meaning sewer or more accurately to cleanse with running water (Hopkins, 2012), is linguistically linked to Venus Cloacina, a combination of the Roman Venus and Etruscan Cloacina, the goddess of purification and fertility. There was a temple to Venus Cloacina in the Roman Forum (Figure 7), which the Maxima runs underneath. It is believed that people cleansed themselves at Venus Cloacina’s shrine, the water flowing into the Cloaca Maxima (Hopkins, 2012).
The Cloaca’s original path was maintained by the Romans to their best ability. At some points, it was impossible to keep this original track and the Romans had to divert the stream. At these places, and various other locations, temples or tributes to the god Janus were made (Figure 8). Janus is the god of paths, doors, and decisions. The Romans were making up for the alteration of the original path of the Cloaca with these appeasements to the god.
The famous Mouth of Truth, or Bocca della Verità in Italian (Figure 9), on display at the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church and featured in the film Roman Holiday is believed to be an old manhole cover for the Cloaca Maxima, its eyes and mouth allowing water to pass through into the sewer below. The stone slab depicts Oceanus, a god who was the source of the world’s water and helped purify water (Hopkins 2012). People today line up to place their hand inside the mouth of the sculpture (Figure 10). If the person is a liar, it is believed that their hand will be bitten off when they place it inside (Rome.info, 2023) (Figure 9). While this sculpture has a more modern significance, the inclusion of this god on a drainage site displays the holiness of the sewer that was once below its face.
While the Cloaca Maxima was a dirty drainage system, because of the Roman’s religious respect for moving water, it was seen as sacred and cleansing. The connection to Venus Cloacina, Janus, and Oceanus shows that the Romans respected the sewer to an even greater degree than just by appreciation of its history.
Maintaining the Structure
Over the vast history of the Cloaca Maxima, it has had to be repaired and slightly modified many times. The inside of the passages beneath the city belonging to the ancient sewer are a patchwork of different materials and building techniques. Archeologists could use this variety of construction styles to pinpoint as to when certain sections were repaired or abandoned, but the degree to which the sections are jumbled together and overlapping makes this very difficult (Hopkins, 2007). There is much debate over which sections belong to which era because of conflicting physical and written evidence (Hopkins, 2012).
The Basilica Aemilia, the remains of which can be seen in the Roman Forum today, was a public building built right on top of the Cloaca Maxima, a design choice that was almost always completely avoided (Hopkins, 2007), and suffered greatly for it over the years leading to repeated collapse of the structure. After rebuilding the structure and the passage underneath it several times, a decision was made by the leaders of Rome to divert the Cloaca Maxima away from its previous path to avoid any further structural damage to the Basilica. This was a very big undertaking and because of the religious significance of the original path of the Cloaca, the site had to be marked with a small temple to Janus to continue with the modification of the Cloaca Maxima (Hopkins, 2012).
The structure is being maintained through careful monitoring and repair where necessary. Some of the tunnels have been lost underground to time, but the parts that are still accessible could pose a major risk to what is built above them if they fail. These passages are mapped and taken into account when construction is done around or above the Cloaca.
Modern Interaction
The Cloaca Maxima hasn’t always been as well maintained as it was in the days of the Roman Empire and today. In the early 1800s, it fell into almost complete disrepair with sediment building up in the channel, making it virtually inaccessible for research and study. Throughout the late 1900s and with funding to prepare for the Jubilee in the year 2000, researchers and archeologists were able to access previously unexplored sections under the Roman Forum and expanding out from there. This created new reverence for the structure and a greater understanding of how maintenance was done on it over the years (Bianchi, 2018).
The Cloaca Maxima remains in use today. Much has been deactivated but some sections still drain the Roman Forum and other nearby areas whose waters are brought to the river by the Cloaca (Figure 11). While it is not being used to the same extent or in the same way that it once was, it is impressive that such an old sewer system can still be running almost 2500 years later.
The newest metro line in Rome, Line C, has been under construction since 2006. As with anything underground in Rome, some major challenges must be overcome due to the layering of newer structures atop ancient ones. While the line itself is avoiding any major archaeological finds by burrowing beneath the human record in the area, the Cloaca Maxima and its newer sewer neighbor the Chiavicone have become an obstacle to the project (Figure 12 a). The engineers are doing their very best to maintain the security and condition of these two pieces of infrastructure. They are monitoring the shape and level of the passages as well as the soil they are digging through (Figure 12 b). The settling of the soil could misshape the stone tunnels, so the workers are watching these figures very closely as they work. So far, there hasn’t been any damage to the pipes but the project is not yet fully completed (Lancellotta et al., 2022).
The Cloaca Maxima is famous, at least in the sewer or drainage realm. While doing research for this article, I found various papers referencing the Cloaca in either title or brief content to demonstrate how far the sewers of today have advanced. The Cloaca Maxima is the starting point of modern sewer systems, in both their size and ability. For such an ancient city, Rome had an incredibly large population with complex needs, and the Cloaca Maxima was able to aid the Romans in the development and maintenance of the city. Without the Cloaca, Rome would not be what it is today.
Although the Cloaca is a historical monument, it is not as pristine as some of the other ancient infrastructure in the city. As can be seen in Figures 1 and 13, people spray paint, toss garbage at, and even sleep under the opening of the Cloaca Maxima to the Tiber River. Some, like Leo Agabiti, are outraged by this. In his article, Tutela storica, a Roma la Cloaca Massima è nel completo abbandono which roughly translates to Historical protection, in Rome the Cloaca Massima is in complete abandonment, he laments the poor image of the Cloaca and is angered by the homeless people taking shelter under the giant arch above the actual opening (Agabiti 2021). I have a differing opinion to Agabiti. The Cloaca is a sewer and is treated as such. It still receives special treatment with restoration and research, but to deny the public access to the opening of this sewer, a piece of infrastructure that still serves them, seems odd. It would be bizarre if one had to pay admittance to a sewer entrance as they must for the Colosseum. I think that there is some beauty in having such an ancient thing out in the open, to be stumbled upon and investigated at one’s leisure. Public buildings will always be subject to vandalism, and however disrespectful it may seem, the importance of the Cloaca lies inside, with the patchwork of construction styles and flowing water coming from across the city.
Conclusion: The Cloaca Maxima and Me
In doing this project, I believe that I have gained almost as much respect for the Cloaca Maxima as the Ancient Romans had for it. I did a lot of research on the sewer, and then went on almost a religious pilgrimage to the site where it exits into the Tiber River. Through the trees, I could just make out the gaping mouth of the Cloaca and was amazed by its solidity and grandeur. The arch is much larger than it needs to be, emphasizing the importance of the Cloaca and also ensuring that the place can be distinguished from the other, lesser, openings into the river.
The religion of the Cloaca Maxima is so much more interesting and solid than the facts of the creation and maintenance. Much of the details of both the initial and continued construction of the structure have been lost to time and the guessing that can be done based on the physical and written evidence available is very general and hotly debated. Religion, on the other hand, lasts. Religion shapes the world, for the better or the worse.
Throughout my time in Rome the most important thing that I have learned is that if something is really old, still accessible, and in good condition, it had, at some point, either been a church or was heavily related to the church. The religion of the Cloaca correlates to this. The Maxima was only created in the path that it was because of its religious significance. Who knows what would have become of the Cloaca Maxima if the Roman leaders weren’t so concerned with curating a sacred site? Rome without the Cloaca Maxima would not be Rome.
References
Agabiti, L. (2021, March 7). Tutela storica, a Roma la Cloaca Massima è nel completo abbandono. Eurocomunicazione. https://www.eurocomunicazione.com/2021/03/07/tutela-storica-a-roma-la-cloaca-massima-e-nel-completo-abbandono/
Bianchi, E. (2018). Projecting and building the Cloaca Maxima. In E. Tamburrino (a Cura Di), Aquam Ducere II. Proceedings of the Second International Summer School “Water and the City: Hydraulic Systems in the Roman Age” (Feltre, 24th-28th August 2015), Seren Del Grappa (BL), 2018, Pp. 177-204.
De Feo, G., Antoniou, G., Fardin, H., El-Gohary, F., Zheng, X., Reklaityte, I., Butler, D., Yannopoulos, S., & Angelakis, A. (2014). The historical development of sewers worldwide. Sustainability, 6(6), 3936–3974. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6063936
Drusiani, R., Zanobini, A., Margaritora, G. (2014). Evolution of sanitation services in the city of Rome between urban development and environmental quality. Angelakis, A. N., & Rose, J. B. Evolution of sanitation and wastewater technologies through the centuries. (pp. 361-382). Iwa Publishing.
Hopkins, John. (2012). The ‘sacred sewer’: tradition and religion in the Cloaca Maxima. Rome, pollution and propriety: dirt, disease and hygiene in the eternal city from antiquity to modernity. Stow, K. R., & Bradley, M. (pp. 81-102). Cambridge University Press.
Hopkins, John N. N. (2007). The Cloaca Maxima and the monumental manipulation of water in archaic Rome. The Waters of Rome. 4.
Lancellotta, R., Viggiani, C., Flora, A., Filomena de Silva, & Mele, L. (2022). Observed interaction between Line C of Roma underground and the Cloaca Maxima. Geotechnical Engineering for the Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites III (pp. 280-291). CRC Press.
Retief, F. P., & Cilliers, L. (1998). The epidemic of Athens, 430-426 BC. South African Medical Journal = Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif Vir Geneeskunde, 88(1), 50–53. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9539938/
Visit the Mouth of truth in Rome: The Ancient Roman Challenge. (2023, August 25). Rome.info. https://www.rome.info/attractions/mouth-of-truth/
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