So, pretty much San Francisco in-between cleansing rains.
From LiveScience, July 6:
We can probably safely assume Rome, in many areas, was likely pretty dirty and rank-smelling. That said, there's evidence of perfumes, incense and even deodorants.
The roar of the arena crowd, the bustle of the Roman forum, the grand temples, the Roman army in red with glistening shields and armor — when people imagine ancient Rome, they often think of its sights and sounds. We know less, however, about the scents of ancient Rome.
We cannot, of course, go back and sniff to find out. But the literary texts, physical remains of structures, objects, and environmental evidence (such as plants and animals) can offer clues.
So what might ancient Rome have smelled like?
Honestly, often pretty rank
In describing the smells of plants, author and naturalist Pliny the Elder uses words such as iucundus (agreeable), acutus (pungent), vis (strong), or dilutus (weak).None of that language is particularly evocative in its power to transport us back in time, unfortunately.
But we can probably safely assume that, in many areas, Rome was likely pretty dirty and rank-smelling. Property owners did not commonly connect their toilets to the sewers in large Roman towns and cities — perhaps fearing rodent incursions or odors.
Roman sewers were more like storm drains, and served to take standing water away from public areas.
Professionals collected feces for fertilizer and urine for cloth processing from domestic and public latrines and cesspits. Chamber pots were also used, which could later be dumped in cesspits.
This waste disposal process was just for those who could afford to live in houses; many lived in small, non-domestic spaces, barely furnished apartments, or on the streets.
A common whiff in the Roman city would have come from the animals and the waste they created. Roman bakeries frequently used large lava stone mills (or "querns") turned by mules or donkeys. Then there was the smell of pack animals and livestock being brought into town for slaughter or sale.
The large "stepping-stones" still seen in the streets of Pompeii were likely so people could cross streets and avoid the assorted feculence that covered the paving stones.
Disposal of corpses (animals and human) was not formulaic. Depending on the class of the person who had died, people might well have been left out in the open without cremation or burial.
Bodies, potentially decaying, were a more common sight in ancient Rome than now....
....MUCH MORE
Possibly also of interest:
"A New Encyclopedia Explores Europe’s Smelly History"
We are not ingénues when it comes to the maloderous.
I had an uncle who, on a volumetric basis, put the Louisiana natural gas storage caverns to shame. I've read about supperating pustules in relation to anthrax (and great band names). We even had a post on the chemicals "putrescine" and "cadaverine,", which are pretty much self-explanatory.
But I did not know this....
Now There's Vomitoxin In the Corn
Great."Too hot? In 1858 a heatwave turned London into a stinking sewer"
Along with cadaverine and putrescine this is one of the most perfectly named of Mother Nature's offerings.
It does exactly what is said on the tin.
If you can get pigs to eat grain that has the chemical on it, well you can guess what happens.
As the philosopher said "San Francisco is the only city where the dogs complain about stepping in people doo."
Long Hot Summers
Between 1500 and 1900 Paris went from 8th largest city in the world with a population of around 185,000 to 3rd largest in the world with a population of, depending on how far out from the city center you measured, 2.7 to 3.6 million.Related:
Back in the day those big cities were aromatic, see the first link below, if interested.
"When Paris’s Streets Were Paved With Filth"
Faux Paris
"What Makes Paris Look Like Paris?"
