Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1908-01-04
DRAINED INTO SAND
SEWERAGE SYSTEM OF THOU.
SANDS OF YEARS AGO.
House Builders OF 8ismya. Pre- 5Iby.
lonian City, Showed Considerable
Ingenuity in Continuance That
Carried or Waste Water.


II is generally supposed that It is
only modern man who has perfected
system of drainage aud sewerage
10 carry from his house and city the
overlooking rain water and filth and
garbage which accumulate.
In the excavation OF Bismya, the
ancient Sumerian or pre-Babylonian
city which fourished $500 years ago,
a remarkable system OF drainage, per-
fectly adapted to the alluyial plain
OF 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
country, without slipping hills or
streams of running water, might tax
the ingenuity OF the modern builder
In constructing a house the an.
Client Sumerian of more than 5000
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 II meters beneath the foundation
OF the house.
From the bottom he built up YER
teal drain Of large, cylindrical terra.
Gotta sections. each OF which Is pro
vded with grooved fanges to receive
the one above. The sections OF one
drain were 10 inches in diameter and
six in height; the thickness OF the
wall was about an inch.
The tiles were punctured at inter.
walls with small holes. The section at
the top OF the drain was semispheri-
cal, fitting over II 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 1t, was rap
idly absorbed by the sand at the bot
tom, and IL there IL 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 discovered with four; large
bath, resembling modern Turkish
bath and provided with a bitumen
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
large saucer In shape and size. Evil
| IDENTITY IT received the waste water of
a drinking fountain, and the cups had
accidentally dropped within.
In the Bismya temple platform, con
structed about 1850 b. c. we uncov-
| cred a horizontal drain OF tiles, each
| OF which was about a yard long,
and not unlike in shape those at pres
| ent employed 1t conducted the rain
water from the platform to one of
the vertical drains
The Babylonians of a later period
who buried instead of cremating their
| dead, carefully provided their Gene
| teries with drains. The graves were
! small house shaped structures entire.
| ly, or partly above ground, and when
ever they were found upon the sloping
side of mound, they were protected
above by a breakwater, while along
the sides were square, open, brick
! drains.
The result was that some OF the
graves, although thousands of years
old, and constructed of unbaked clay.
are still in a perfect state OF preser.
vation.-Scientllc American.