Turn on the tap and watch clean water flow. Observe as the waste water spirals down the plug hole. Enjoy the warmth of the central heating system on a cold winter day. These are things that we routinely take for granted. Plumbing is not a modern invention but is a development that has taken place over thousands of years. Plumbing has seen the coming and going of empires, the creation of religions, and can be regarded as one of the most important developments that humanity has ever achieved.
Ancient Times
When we talk about plumbing and sanitation many people regard the Romans as the founders of plumbing. This is not the case as civilisations further back have been shown to have used rudimentary plumbing systems. But, the word plumbing comes from the Latin for lead, plumbum. The Romans were the first civilization to bring systems together and construct buildings with plumbing in mind.
Archaeologists have uncovered ruins in the Indus Valley that date back to 2,700 BC. They discovered water courses for clean water systems running from high mounting streams into villages. Re-routing water supplies for irrigation systems is not something new. Mankind has been using irrigation systems for thousands of years. What makes the Indus special is that they employed handmade clay pipes with flanges that were sealed with asphalt. Other similar examples have been found in China, Greece, Persia and India.
The Roman Empire stretched across many of these regions and certainly the Romans traded widely with these regions, and this goes some of the way to explaining how the Romans came to adopt the water, waste, and heating systems now being uncovered. The Romans were the first civilization to build with plumbing systems incorporated into a building?s fabric at the construction stage. They designed and built under-floor heating systems by building the houses up on piles to enable warm air flow. They also built in water systems including hot water that was pumped through lead pipes into bathing pools. The Romans were also early pioneers of the waste recycle system and evidence has been found that the Romans used their grey water for agricultural purposes.
Medieval Times
The Medieval times were a dark time for human civilization and no more so than in respect of sanitation. Disease was rife and populations were exploding across Europe and the globe. Much of what had been learned by the ancient civilizations was now very much forgotten. Open cesspools and waste ditches ran through city streets. Water for consumption was being drawn directly from polluted sources. Stench and decay lay all around.
In 1596, Sir John Harrington invented the water closet. He wanted a system to remove the stench of human waste from his home. He devised a simple system of a header tank filled with water that was released once a crude valve had been opened. The waste was washed down into a cellar pit. The system was remarkable but failed to catch on because it was fundamentally flawed. The first problem was that the system required regular topping with buckets of water as there was no running water. The second was that the waste pit had to be emptied and this usually ended up back in the water system.
Industrial Revolution and Beyond
By the late 1700s, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. The modern world was emerging as a new world of industry and manufacturing. Livelihoods were now being made in the towns and cities. Populations began to migrate from the countryside into the cities. With the growth in population came death and disease. Industrial centres such as London, Manchester, and Liverpool saw massive increases in rates of mortality. Outbreaks of cholera, typhoid and dysentery were commonplace. Something had to be done.
The growth of science had led to an increased awareness and understanding of disease. Early scientists became aware of the links between disease and polluted drinking water.
The Victorians made it their mission to improve sanitation and set about developing the underground sewer systems that are still in use today. They also started to develop ideas about handling waste and discovered ways to create pressured water systems to deliver water on tap.
One outstanding Victorian inventor was Thomas Crapper (1837 ? 1910) who is credited with inventing the world?s first clean water flush sanitation system. Crapper?s invention was to be the saving grace of many lives. His invention was quickly adopted and is now commonplace in all our homes.
Modern Times
The early thrust of the work carried out by the Victorians was disrupted by the outbreak of war in 1914. The subsequent depression of the 1920s and the outbreak of war in 1939 were to blame for the slow development of plumbing.
After the war had ended, the government began a programme of building development. Gone were the pre-war slums, and in their place were new buildings complete with copper pipes. Copper had replaced lead as the choice of material for pipe construction. Scientists had become acutely aware of the risk of lead poisoning that had heaped misery on many thousands in the pre-war period. As housing stock developed, so did understanding of sanitation systems.
Over the last 50 years, there have been huge developments in plumbing. Every week there is a patent registered for a new plumbing system or device. The plumbing industry and its manufacturing support industry are now worth billions of pounds per year. People earn their living from plumbing, but more importantly the industry safeguards all of our lives by ensuring that we never return to the disease-ridden past of our ancestors.
Article given to us by HighTech Group
Source: http://www.moderndignity.com/a-history-of-plumbing/
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