Built in the first century A.D. they were the public toilets of Ephesus. The toilets are arranged side by side with no partition between them. So no privacy here.
Located just off of Curetes Street in the ancient city of Ephesus you can find a room filled with public toilets. Just imagine no separation, marble heated seating by the servants and a fountain to help drown out the noise.... it is very impressive how thousands of years ago a civilization could creative something so impressive. Yes its just a toilet room but at least its interesting to take a walk around.
The public latrines are well preserved (as are most sights in Ephesus), and it's quite interesting to see that once upon a time people had no need for privacy while "doing their business"!
传说中罗马时代的公共厕所,感觉大理石的台面,那个时代的人们对于个人卫生事业还是挺热衷的。传说这里也只能是少数市民能使用,每一个位置之间的距离还是挺近的,传说的一个社交场所。
It had just rained before my tour of Ephesus and I noticed that rain was retained in the areas worn by feet or sandals over the centuries that this latrine was used. Really brings home the sophistication of the town planning and how close some of their creature comforts were to ours.
This Public Latrine shows how advanced the Roman civilisation was. In particular it shows their advanced building techniques and planning.The latrine seems quite sanitary as it used covered drains and used water from the bath houses.
Part of the magnificent ruins of Ephesus, this was quite an interesting exhibit and caused a few titters in our group. It's well known that the mind becomes very clear when "sitting on the throne" so I expect some profound debates took place there. A similar concept might be useful in our House of Commons. Our tour guide told us they used to pass around a sponge tied to the end of a stick. He didn't mention what they did with it!
Now this shows an advanced civilization. The seats look pretty comfortable as well. Water was provided by the baths above so they can also claim advanced water usage techniques.
Make sure your guide includes this public latrine in your day in Ephesus! All open but with heated marble seats for the occupants' enjoyment. This is off Theron drag but you don't want to miss it! Amazing innovations from centuries ago!
These are very similar to what you see at Ostia Antica outside Rome. Use your imagination to make the visit more interesting. (Tip: hire a good guide for the visit to Ancient Ephesus and you'll get so much more out of it.)