Water is an important element for survival and plumbing has played a major part

in how civilizations have evolved.

Plumbing originated during ancient civilizations, including the Greek, Roman,

Persian, Indian and Chinese. As cities in these areas developed, they each created

ways to irrigate their crops and provide public baths, wastewater removal and portable

water.

Lack of plumbing systems was the number one cause of diseases in the

ancient world. In the ancient kingdom of Indus River, Northwest India, was discovered

archaeological evidence of a technological solution for wastewater treatment and water

supply lines.

HISTORY OF ANCIENT PLUMBING

The Ancient Egyptians were the first civilization to use copper pipes, as well as

digging wells as deep as 300 feet. Plumbing became even more advanced during

Ancient Greek times, where they enjoyed hot and cold running water and showers for

athletes, but it was the Romans who first used truly advanced plumbing systems. They

built a sophisticated system to channel water from the mountains through underground

pipes made of lead. The famous Roman Baths also had hot running water heated by

wood, steam rooms and sewer pipes to carry wastewater. Ancient Egyptians developed

the first copper plumbing pipes, which replaced earlier versions made from baked clay

and straw. They also developed the water wheel and drilled up to 300 feet deep wells. It

is known thus because of the discovery of plumbing systems in the pyramid tombs.

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 Not all ancient civilizations have plumbing systems, but some ancient civilizations

did, in fact, have plumbing systems of sorts. Evidence of this has been found in the

remains of Indian, Chinese, Greek, Persian, and Roman structures. The most common

uses for plumbing in those societies were public baths, a way to bring drinkable water

closer, and a way to carry waste away. This became increasingly important as cities

with denser populations developed. 

 Asia 

The oldest evidence of a plumbing system is the discovery of

copper water pipes in palace ruins of India’s Indus River Valley.

These pipes date all the back to 4000-3000 B.C. in addition,

earthen plumbing pipes dating around 2700 B.C. have been

uncovered in the Indus Valley’s ancient urban settlement.  

 Africa 

More than treasure and mummies have been found in

ancient Egyptians ruins. Copper pipes were also

discovered, dating around 2500 B.C. They appear to

have been part of irrigation and sewage systems, as well

as beautifully designed bathrooms inside great

pyramids. 

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  Europe 

One of the most plumbing’s most famous, ancient historical landmarks is the

Minoan Palace on Crete, which contains pipes for water and sewage that were hidden

within its walls (just like pipes today). The Palace even had a water closet with a

flushing device and taps that could deliver both cold and hot water, dating back to

around 1000 B.C. Ancient rainwater cisterns (dated on Crete), which were used for

collecting rainwater for use letter from about 500 B.C. to 445 A.D. the romans took

plumbing to another level literally with the construction of towering aqueducts to bring

water into their cities and sophisticated sewage systems below their cities. There wasn’t

much to rival it afterward until the 19th century. In addition, romans also made use of

new materials in their plumbing, including bronze and lead pipes and marble fixtures

adorned with fitting of silver and gold. 

Some European castles contained privies, but the “plumbing system” basically

delivered waste right into the castle moat. Chamber pots, though an ancient invention,

were still used widely and once filled, were dumped out in fields or directly into city

streets. 

 The Indus Valley Civilization: Flushing Toilets  

Located in what is now Pakistan and Northwest India,

the Indus Valley or “Harappan” civilization existed in the

Bronze Age (3300-1300 BCE) and is one of the oldest

human civilizations ever discovered. Many of the

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Harappans lived in remarkably advanced cities such as Lothal. A huge part of what

made cities like these possible were the earliest known examples of a public water

supply and sanitation system. 

Every home in Lothal had a private, indoor toilet.  These toilets led to small drains

which emptied into wide, brick-and-mortar sewer networks. Lothal’s sewer system

worked quite like modern sewer systems. Lothal’s homes even possessed the first flush

toilets! After using the toilet, people would empty a jar of water down a clay-brick

opening and into the toilet’s drain. The water would “flush” the waste down the drain.

Not bad, considering the modern flush toilet wouldn’t be invented until almost five

thousand years later! 

 Minoan Civilization: Piped Sewers  

The Greek Minoan civilization located on

the Island of Crete existed from around 2600 to 1100

BCE. A mercantile economy, the Minoans traded a

great deal with mainland Greece, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Spain. Historians

consider Minoans the forerunners of Greek civilization and culture. They are often

credited as the first European civilization. 

The impressive organization and advancement of Minoan urban technology still

fascinates Archeologists. The Minoan capital Knossos had a complex and effective

water management system. This system included the first known underground sewer

and water supply pipes. One small step for plumbing, one giant leap for our collective

noses. Minoans built these pipes out of terracotta. They could either carry wastewater

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out of or transport water into buildings. Some Minoan palaces even used the first

ever inverted siphoning system (like a modern-day p-trap), made from glass-covered

clay pipes.   

 Mayan Civilization: Early Pressurized Water System 

In 2006, scientists Christopher Duffy and Kirk

French of Penn State University discovered something

surprising in the remains of a palace in the Mayan city

of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico: a water fountain. The underground Piedras Bolas

aqueduct redirects water from a stream and drops it at least 20 feet very suddenly. Near

the end of the drop, the width of the channel suddenly decreases from 10 square feet to

a half-square foot. 

Mayans built a pressurized system for water distribution using the same principles

we use today. The Piedras Bolas Aqueduct proves that the Mayans understood water

pressure as early as 450 AD, and came to the discovery independently of Spanish

colonists. 

 Ancient Pakistan/India

The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization found

in South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE until 1300 BCE.

Standardized earthen pipe systems found in their urban

settlements are one of the earliest examples of ancient plumbing.

a drain at Lothal,
Wells within buildings and drains in the floors of bathing areas are some early

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innovations. In addition, they had bathrooms with septic tanks, very similar to modern

day bathrooms.

 Ancient China

Earthen pipes used as part of sewer systems helped with

both rainwater and wastewater in Chinese cities as far back

as 4000 years ago. Similarly, hollow bamboo reed carried

fresh water to and from ancient salt mines.

 Ancient Mesopotamia

The city of Babylon was one of the most magnificent cities of

ancient times. King Nebuchadnezzar II, around 600 BCE, had an

extravagant palace with separate bathrooms and elaborate

Shaduf drainage. He even had latrines with raised seats all connected to

a covered sewage system. One of the Ancient Wonders of the World is the Hanging

Gardens of Babylon. there are numerous accounts of the Gardens throughout the

region. All these gardens would have needed an extensive irrigation system. A

combination of canals, dikes, pipes, and shadufs (a wooden beam with a fulcrum and a

bucket on one end used to lift water to elevated troughs) were used to deliver water

where it was needed.

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  Ancient Egypt 2500 BCE

The ancient Egyptians created the first copper pipes.

Because water was scarce, the Egyptians dug wells that were

up to 300 feet deep. Crop irrigation used a complex system of

The baths of Kom el Dikka, Egypt

canals, dams, and sluices. Water wheels were invented in

ancient Egypt and used in conjunction with shadufs to raise water from the wells and to

irrigate their crops. There were many public bathhouses, as well as private bathhouses

for the wealthy. The ancient Egyptians went so far as to build functional bathrooms for

their dead.

 Ancient Crete/Minoa 3000 BCE – 1000 BCE

Bathrooms in the royal palace had hot and cold running

water, as well as ceramic bathtubs. Terra cotta pipes used in

their drainage systems enabled odors to be siphoned away

from the latrines. Open top channel systems drained storm water into the sewers. The
Minoan fountain at Delos
first flushing toilets used rainwater collected in cisterns.

 Ancient Greece 500 BCE – 300 BCE

The Greeks improved many of the Minoan inventions and helped

to make them part of everyday life. Hot and cold running water

bathtub at Nestor’s palace, near Pylos, Greece

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and bathtubs were commonplace, provided by aqueducts. Overhead pipes and shower

heads installed at the site of the Olympic Games enabled athletes to shower.

 Ancient Rome 800 BCE – 300 CE

The Romans used lead for their pipe work. These pipes took

water from the mountains and carried it underground into the

Roman cities.

Ancient Roman
These pipes provided hot water
aqueduct
heated by wood furnaces. Lead pipes carried wastewater into the Tiber River. There

were public latrines, in addition to the public bath houses.

The Romans represented the high point of ancient plumbing technology. With the

fall of the Roman Empire in 410 CE came a standstill in plumbing technology for many,

many years.

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 The history of plumbing tells the story of human development and invention.

While the basic concepts have stayed the same, materials and methods of

plumbing, have evolved to create a more efficient and reliable system.

Over the millennia, ancient civilizations have traditionally settled where there

is easy access to water. Ensuring that a fresh water supply and sanitation is

available has been the focus of technological advances in every major civilization

from Egypt to Ecuador.

Most ancient scientists were well aware that when water resources were

limited and sanitation systems were insufficient, diseases spread. Having

convenient access to clean water and an easy way to eliminate waste isn’t

something we think much about today, but it was a driving concern throughout

ancient times.