Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1908-04-02
DRAINED INTO SAND
SEWERAGE SYSTEM OF THOU
SANDS OF YEARS AGO.
House Builders Of Bismya, Pres Iby.
ionian City, Showed Considerable
Ingenuity In ccn.rivance That
Carried OFF Waste Water.

III Is generally supposed that IL ia
only modern man who has perfected
system of drainage and sewerage
TO carry from his hou-e and city the
oyerfiowing rain water and filth ADD
gar page which accumulate.
In the excavation OF Bismya. the
ancient Sumerian Or pre.Babylonlan
c.ty which fourished $500 years age
remarkable system OF drainage, per
fectly adapted to the alluvial plain
o. the Mesopotamian 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 a crust OF
hard clay upon the surface, baked by
the hot sun of summer time, so hard
that II resembles stone. Parts of the
desert are perfect for bicycle riding.
Beneath the crust, which at Bismya
Is seldom more than four feet In thick
ness. and In places entirely lacking
Is loose. caving sand reaching TO an
unknown depth. Drainage in such q
country, without sloping hills OF
streams OF running water, might tax
the ingenuity OF the modern builder
In constructing n house the an.
cient Sumeriln OF more than 600J
years ago first dug a hole into the
sand to a considerable depth; at Bis
mya several instances were found
where the shaft had reached the depth
Of IA meters beneath tho foundation
of the house.
From the bottom he built up a yer
teal drain of large, cyliI drical terra
Gotta sections, each of which is pro
vided with grooved flanges TO receIv.
the one above. The sections OF ont,
drain were 10 inches in diameter and
six in height; the thickness of the
wall was about an inch.
The tiles were punctured at .nte'
walls with small holes. The section a,
the top OF the drain was semispherl.
cal, fitting over IL like a cap and pro
vided with an opening to receive the
water from above. Sand and potsherds
were then filled in about the drain, and
II was ready for use.
The water, pouring into It, was rap
idly absorbed by the sand at the bot
tom. and IL there 1t became cloggec
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 discovered with four; large
bath, resembling a modern Turkish
hoth nd
floor, sloping to one corner, emptied
Its waste water into one.
In clearing out the drains at the
temple We removed dozens of shallow
terra-cotta drinking cups. not unlike
a large saucer In shape and size. Eyi
IDENTIFY 1t received the waste water OF
drinking fountain, and the cups had
accidentally dropped within.
In the Bismya temple platform, con
structed about $3.50 b. c. we uncov
cred horizontal drain of tiles, each
OF which was about yard long
and not unlike in shape those at pres
ent employed. 1t conducted the raiI
water from the platform to one OF
the vertical drains.
The Babylonians OF n later period
who buried instead of cremating their
dead, carefully provided their GENE
feries with drains. The graves were
small house-shaped structures entire
ly, or partly above ground. and when
ever they were found upon the slopiDg
side of mound, they were protected
above by a breakwater, while alone
the sides were square, open, brick
drains.
The result was that some of thu
graves, although thousands OF year.
old, and constructed of unbaked clay
are still i'm a perfect state of preser
yaton.-Scientiflc American