Cool Fact: Plumbing history is really ancient.
Off the top of your head, what could you not live without in your home? We bet money you did not even think about your toilet. Which is a shame, because can you imagine not having a toilet? And, toilets work hard. We at Four Star Plumbing feel the need to honor your toilet for you by going into how we ended up with modern plumbing. This might take a while because believe it or not, plumbing has been around for a very long time. This is going to be Part 1 of an ongoing History of Plumbing series.
So where did it all begin?
Well, to be honest archeologists are too not sure. As with all things in life, time erases history. But the good news is that they have nailed down some of the earliest examples of planned plumbing. Archeologists found what they called the Indus Valley Civilization in northern India and Pakistan This culture existed around 3500 B.C.E, which to put that in perspective, the Egyptians would need another 1000 years to build the pyramids of Giza! And to really blow your mind, that means this culture thrived and had proto-plumbing over 5000 years ago.
What kind of plumbing was around that long ago?
image source: britannica.com
In all honesty, the Indus Valley had very simple plumbing systems. These systems could be found all over their cities. They built drainage “pipes” under raised floors in most homes, which were burnt bricks buried in the ground. These drains could be visible from the outside and would drain to designated parts of the city. These brick drains would connect to a hole in the raised floor, from which families would drop water onto themselves and the water would drain to the city. the Rich of the city on the other hand had Proto-Toilets, which were raised platforms with a hole cut into them. They would use toilets, then use water to “flush” them to fertilizer pits.
One of their crowning achievements were the community bathhouses, maybe some of the first in the world. These community bathhouses would be large, and up to 8 feet deep. They could be drained out using the brick drains for cleaning and refilling. All these features were for sanitation and ease of use for the culture, and shows that even 5000 years ago staying clean was just as important as it is now.
So what happened to these people?
A lot is still being gleaned from the ruins. While they were originally found in the 1920’s it was not until 1999 that archeologists found breakthroughs that pointed at this civilization being much older than previously thought. What is theorized is that a mixture of outside influence, climate change, and possibly even a tectonic event that shifted the nearby rivers just far enough away to hamper the cities near it.
We are hope you watch our feeds and catch our next article because we will tackle Ancient Egypt, Greece and Roman cultures use of Plumbing.
Want to learn more about modern drains and how to protect your home? Check out our articles on cleaning and maintenance.
Sources:
http://indus-valley-civ.weebly.com/health-and-sanitation.html
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations
https://www.ancient.eu/Indus_Valley_Civilization
