The sun., 1905-08-20
ANCIENT SEWERAGE SYSTEMS
HOW THE BABYLONIANS DRAINED
THEIR CITY.


THEIR CITY.
Excavations In Oldest Cities OF the world
Show Remarkable Drainage Systems
Perfectly Adapted to the Soils and
to the Demands Of the Inhabitants.
II is generally supposed that It Is only
modern man who has perfected system
OF drama &c and sewerage to carry from his
house and city the overfowing rain water
and the filth and garbage which accumu-
late. In the excavation Of Bismya, the
ancient Sumerian or pre-Babylonian city
which fouilshed $500 years ago, writes
Edgar j. Banks in the Scientific American,
q remarkable system OF drainage. perfectly
adapted to the alluvlal plain Of the Mesopo-
tamian desert, has been discovered.
Babylonia is perfectly level. From Bagdad
to the Persian Gulf there Is not the slightest
elevation, save for the artificial mounds
or an occasional changing sand DRIFT. In
most places there Is crust OF hard cay
upon the surface, baked by the hot sun OF
summer time, SO hard that 1t resembles
stone. Parts of the desert are perfect Tor
bicycle riding. Beneath the crust, which
at Bismya is seldom more than four feet In
thickness and in places entirely lacking,
ia loose, caving sand reaching to an I'm
known depth.
DRAMA ge in such country, without slop-
Ing hills or streams of running water, might
tax the ingenuity of the modern builder.
In constructing a house the ancient Su-
merian of more than 5000 years ago first
dug hole into the sand to considerable
depth. At Bsmya several instances were
found where the shaft had reached the
depth OF fourteen meters beneath the foun-
dation of the house.
From the bottom he built up vertical
drain Of large, cylindrical, terra Gotta
sections, each of which is provided with
grooved flanges to receive the one above.
The sections of one drain we're forty-eight
centimeters in diameter and sixty in height;
others were larger and much shorter; the
thickness Of the wall was 27 centimeters.
The tiles were plinctured at intervals with
small holes about two centimeters in di-
ameter The section at the top of the drain
was semi-spherical fitting over it like cap,
and provided with an opening to receive
the water from above. Sand and potsherds
we're then filled in about the drain, and 1t
was ready for use. The water pouring into
Il, was rapidly absorbed by the sand at the
bottom, and II there it became clogged
the water ESCAPED through the holes in the
sides of the tiles.
The temple at Bismya was provided with
several such drains. One palace was dis
covered with four; large bath, resembling
q modern Turkish hath, and provided with
4 .1N IN
emptied its waste water into one.
In clearing out the drains, a few OF them,
whose openings had been exposed. were
filed with the drifting sand Others were
half full of the filth of long past ages; in one
at the temple we removed dozens OF shal-
low terra Gotta drinking cups, not unlike
a large saucer in shape and size. Evil
IDENTIFY it received the waste water OF
drinking fountain, and the cups had acci-
dentally dropped within.
In the Bismya temple platform. con-
structed about 275O B. c., we uncovered
q horizontal drain of tiles, each Of which
was about O meter long and fifteen cent?
meters in diameter, and not unlike In shape
those at present employed. 1t conducted
the rain water from the platform to one OF
the vertical drains. One tile was 80 vel!
constructed that for a long time 1t served
as a chimney for our house, until my
Turkish overseer suggested that lts oark
smoked end project from the battlements
OF the house to convince the Arabs that
we were we'll fortified; thus it served as
gun until the close of the excavations.
In other parts OF the temple more ele-
mentary drains were employed to carry
of the surface water from the slightly m
groove constructed OF bricks or arranged
BY omitting the bricks in the floor, fire.
oilently the groove was continued down
over the vertical edge Of the platform.
The Babylonians OF a later period, VINO
buried instead of cremating their dead,
carefully provided their cemeteries with
shaped structures entirely or partly above
ground, and whenever they were found
upon the sloping side Of mound, they
were protected above by q breakwater,
while along the sides we're SQUARE, aHe open open
OF the graves, although thousands OF years
old, and constructed Of unbaked clay,
are still in a perfect state OF preserva-
ton.
surprising to learn that the arch, until
TO the ancients, was frequently employed
by the pre-Babylonians Of mere than
q! 900 years ago. Such an arch, in a poor
state Of preservation. was few years ago
discovered in the lowest stratum, beneath
Gently an arched, drain was found beneath
the old city Of Fara, which the Germans
have excavated in central Babylonia. The
city, although one Of the earliest known;
was built upon an earlier ruin, and provided
with an arched drain constructed OF small.
plano-convex bricks. 1t measures about
one meter in height, and has an equal
width
While delving among the ruins OF the
Oldest cities Of the world we are thus find.
ing that at the time when we supposed
provided his home and city with improve
ments" which we are inclined TO call modern,
but which we are only reinventing.
CLEANING FISH BY MACHINERY.
Labor Saving Devices in Use in . Great