The Romans were great believers in a healthy mind equalling a healthy body. There was a belief that if you kept fit, you would be more able to combat an illness. Rather than spend money on a doctor, many Romans spent money on keeping [?]. The Romans did believe that illnesses had a [?] cause and that bad health could be caused by bad water and [?]. Hence their desire to improve the public health system in the Roman Empire so that everyone in their empire benefited. – not just the rich. Those who worked for the Romans needed good health as did their soldiers. In this sense, the Romans were the first civilisation to introduce a programme of public health for everyone regardless of [?]. Roman cities, villas and forts were built in what were considered healthy places. The Romans knew not only where to build but also where not to build: The Romans became practised at draining [?] to rid areas of malaria-carrying [?]. Julius Caesar drained the Codetan Swamp and planted a forest in its place.
The Romans paid especial attention to the health of their soldiers as without these soldiers, the Roman Empire could collapse. Great emphasis was placed on [?] having access to clean water and being able to keep fit. Commanders ordered their junior officers not to set up a camp too near a swamp and the drinking of swamp water was especially discouraged. Soldiers were moved around as it was believed that if they stayed too long in one place, they would start to suffer from the illnesses that might have existed in that area. Clean water was very important to the Romans. Cities, towns and forts were built near [?]. However, as Roman cities and towns grew, they needed to bring in water from further afield. As the population grew, so did the need for clean water. Trying to shift large volumes of water underground in pipes was not possible as [?] pipes would be too weak and [?] pipes would be too expensive. The Romans could not make cast iron pipes as the techniques for doing this were not known to them. If water could not be brought via pipes, the Romans decided to bring it overland in what were [?]. When the water got to the city, it was fed off into smaller bronze or ceramic pipes. To get the water to flow at an even (and slow) pace, conduits were built on a slight slope. Valleys were crossed by using [?]. One of the most famous of these is the Pont du Gard aqueduct at Nimes in southern France. Where possible, the Romans did take water through tunnels but the hills needed to be relatively small for this to be successful.
Rome, as the capital of the empire, had to have an impressive water supply. The supply was designed by Julius Frontinus who was appointed Water Commissioner for Rome in 97 AD. The aqueducts that fed Rome carried an estimated 1000 million litres of water a day. Personal hygiene was also a major issue in the day-to-day life of Romans. Their famous baths played an important part in this.The baths were used by both rich and poor. Most Roman settlements contained a public bath of some sort. In Britain the most famous are at Bath. The entrance fee for the baths were extremely small – usually about a [?] (1/16th of a penny!). This extremely low price was to ensure that no-one did not bathe because it was too expensive.
From the writings of [?], we know that the Romans spent large sums of money building their baths. Seneca wrote about baths with walls covered in huge mirrors and marble with water coming out of silver taps! "And I’m talking only about the common people." (Seneca) The baths of the rich included waterfalls according to Seneca. Even people who were sick were encouraged to bathe as it was felt that this would help them to regain their good health. Roman houses and streets also had [?]. Other civilisations had also used toilets but they had been the preserve of the rich and were essentially a sign of your wealth. By 315 AD, it is said that Rome as a city had 144 public toilets which were flushed clean by running water. All forts had toilets in them. To complement these toilets, the Romans also needed a sufficiently effective drainage system. Pliny, the writer, wrote that many Romans believed that Rome’s sewers were the city’s greatest achievement. Seven rivers were made to flow through the city’s sewers and served to flush any sewage out of them. The importance of hygiene also extended as far as [?] hospitals which had drainage and sewage systems attached to them. Quite clearly, the Romans believed that an injured soldier would get back to health quicker recovering in a hygienic environment. (From History Learning website)