The Empire on the Seat

The Empire on the Seat examines privacy, filth, and power in Roman latrines. Beginning with the communal facilities near Ostia’s Forum Baths, it explores water access, bodily exposure, cleaning practices, chamber pots, waste handling, taxation, labor, and the limits of sanitation. The focus is Roman Italy with identified provincial comparisons across distinct periods. Ancient testimony, satire, material evidence, and modern research are distinguished rather than collapsed into one picture of Roman life. Includes an introduction, ten c...