Water and wastes：Plumbing Fixtures.pdfVIP

P a r t II WATER AND WASTES C h a p t e r 13 Plumbing Fixtures Interior designers are often involved in the selection and By 1500 BC, aristocratic Egyptian homes used cop- specification of plumbing fixtures. Let’s start our dis- per pipes for hot and cold water. Whole-body bathing cussion of this topic with a brief look at the history of was part of religious ceremonies, and priests were re- plumbing fixtures. quired to immerse themselves in cold water four times Indoor bathrooms were not common in homes un- a day. The Mosaic Law of the Jews (1000–930 BC) re- til around 1875, but their history goes back thousands lated bodily cleanliness to moral purity, and complex of years. Archeologists in Scotland’s Orkney Islands public waterworks were built throughout Palestine discovered a latrine-like plumbing system dating to under the rule of David and Solomon. 8000 BC that carried wastes from stone huts to streams Bathing became a social occasion in the second in a series of crude drains. Hygiene has been a religious century BC in Rome, when massive public bath com- imperative for Hindus since 3000 BC, when many homes plexes included gardens, shops, libraries, exercise in India had private bathroom facilities. In the Indus rooms and lounge areas for poetry readings. The Baths Valley of Pakistan, archeologists have found ancient pri- of Caracalla offered body oiling and scraping salons; vate and public baths fitted with