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This illustration is a reconstruction of the latrine at the Roman fort of Housesteads<\/a> in England. We may be surprised at the communal nature of this facility and its lack of privacy. Although these men are soldiers, similar latrines are found throughout the Roman world and were often open to the public.<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.Text 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"0820dce7-7d94-4312-b3ae-d932bc3893e9"}],"header":"Latrine"},{"position":{"x":73.599999999999994,"y":54.227430555555557},"alwaysFullscreen":true,"content":[{"params":{"text":"

The men are each holding a xylospongium, which is usually understood to be a sponge tied to the end of a stick. Many people believe that the Romans used this implement for cleaning their backsides after going to the washroom. As we shall see, this is not as clear as it may at first appear.<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.Text 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"38f709b6-b1a4-4d63-b216-bd52e2ef673d"}],"header":"Xylospongium"},{"position":{"x":36,"y":81.111111111111114},"alwaysFullscreen":true,"content":[{"params":{"text":"

There is a channel at the feet of the men, carrying fresh water around the room and out a drain. It is placed so that it could be reached by each person using the facilities, according to this reconstruction in order to rinse their xylospongium while cleaning themselves.<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.Text 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"72a787e1-b5e9-4853-8e92-c122d71cacc0"}],"header":"Water channel"},{"position":{"x":79.200000000000003,"y":77.994791666666657},"alwaysFullscreen":true,"content":[{"params":{"text":"

An interesting detail in this illustration is that the men are all wearing pants or trousers, called bracae in Latin. During the Republic, Romans considered pants uncivilized, since only \u201cbarbarians\u201d wore them. Later in the Imperial period, however, Roman soldiers and also civilians began adopting them, especially in the northern provinces where climate must have encouraged their use. Roman soldiers were shown wearing pants or leggings on the Column of Trajan from the early second century CE.<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.Text 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"a007e9b2-16d6-478d-aaa5-0e50586a56ee"}],"header":"Pants"}],"hotspotNumberLabel":"Hotspot #num","closeButtonLabel":"Close","image":{"path":"images\/image-6144a9d2e4eac.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":1436,"height":1010},"backgroundImageAltText":"A colour drawing shows three men in a Roman latrine. They sit upon benches set along the walls, in which are rows of toilet seats. They each hold a xylospongium to dip in the water channel that runs around the room at their feet.]"}