On Babylonian lavatories and sewers

George, Andrew

Abstract

This study begins by examining the archaeological and documentary evidence for lavatories (toilets) and foul-water drains in ancient Mesopotamian dwelling houses. It goes on to investigate the use, etymology and history of the Akkadian word asurrû: in the Old Babylonian period it served mainly as a term for a kind of foul-water drain or “sewer” but later shed that meaning.

Citation

George, A. (2015). On Babylonian lavatories and sewers. Iraq, 77, 75-106. https://doi.org/10.1017/irq.2015.9

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jan 5, 2016
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Dec 7, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 12, 2016
• Journal: IRAQ
• Print ISSN: 0021-0889
• Electronic ISSN: 2053-4744
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 77
• Pages: 75-106
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/irq.2015.9