{"id":2229,"date":"2026-03-20T12:09:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/?page_id=2229"},"modified":"2026-07-18T14:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T18:03:56","slug":"cloaca-maxima-great-sewer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/?page_id=2229","title":{"rendered":"Cloaca\u00a0Maxima\u00a0(&#8220;great\u00a0sewer&#8221;)\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"414\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1966.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1966.png 414w, https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1966-300x217.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 414px) 100vw, 414px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pliny, an early Roman historian, regarded the\u00a0the\u00a0Cloaca Maxima as the City\u2019s\u00a0\u2018greatest\u00a0achievement\u2019\u00a0because\u00a0it\u00a0enabled\u00a0it\u00a0to\u00a0transform\u00a0itself\u00a0from\u00a0a modest hill town to a genuine city. In a very real\u00a0sense\u00a0it can be said that Roman\u00a0history\u00a0commenced\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0construction\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Cloaca. It\u00a0began\u00a0as a\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">drainage ditch\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>dug through the Forum in the sixth century BC King Tarquinius Priscus. Dedicated Venus\u00a0Cloacina, the goddess of life and purification, a shrine in her honor stood near the Basilica Aemelia in the heart of the Roman Forum. The Cloaca served originally as a series of open channels carrying the Forum\u2019s wastewater to the nearby Tiber River until covered over, four hundred years later.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"169\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1967.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2231\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of the Cloaca was reconstructed and enlarged by Agrippa during the reign of Emperor\u00a0<strong>Augustus\u00a0<\/strong>and soon thereafter it was connected to the aqueduct system of the entire City.\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Parts of the sewer were made from\u00a0different\u00a0kinds\u00a0of\u00a0stone,\u00a0such\u00a0as\u00a0peperino\u00a0and\u00a0concrete\u00a0and\u00a0tufa<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manholes&nbsp;covered the sewer lines placed a few yards apart and decorated with&nbsp;marble&nbsp;reliefs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"168\" height=\"222\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1968.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2232\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0City\u2019s\u00a0<strong>aqueducts\u00a0<\/strong>fed\u00a0into\u00a0the\u00a0sewers\u00a0after\u00a0supplying\u00a0many\u00a0of\u00a0its\u00a0public baths (terme) as well as the public fountains, palaces, and private houses. This continuous supply of running water helped to flush away waste and cleared the sewers of obstructions.\u00a0The Cloaca originally had some kind of religious significance.\u00a0Shrines\u00a0were placed over\u00a0it\u00a0such as the small\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">sanctuary of Venus\u00a0Cloacina<\/span><\/strong>, near the Basilica Aemelia in the Forum.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"303\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1969.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1969.png 303w, https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1969-300x224.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 303px) 100vw, 303px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Occasionally and sacrilegiously, the Romans threw bodies into the sewers instead of giving them a proper burial as with Emperor\u00a0<strong>Elagabulus\u00a0<\/strong>in 222 AD.\u00a0In recent times many passages have been connected to the City\u2019s modern\u00a0sewage\u00a0system\u00a0to\u00a0prevent\u00a0backflow\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0Tiber.\u00a0While\u00a0today\u00a0the Cloaca does not function at full capacity,\u00a0it still drains some of the City\u2019s street\u00a0water\u00a0into\u00a0the\u00a0Tiber.\u00a0Parts\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0system\u00a0are\u00a0visible\u00a0today\u00a0in\u00a0places\u00a0like the Velabro area.\u00a0An arch made of tufa\u00a0was built for the\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">sewer&#8217;s mouth<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>at the embankment of the river and is visible from\u00a0the Tiber\u00a0Island. In Imperial times, the mouth measured twelve feet in diameter, large enough contemporaries said, to \u2018drive through it a wagon load of hay\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"337\" height=\"217\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1970.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1970.png 337w, https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1970-300x193.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 337px) 100vw, 337px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">stairways<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>leading to it next\u00a0to the\u00a0<strong>Basilica Julia\u00a0<\/strong>and the\u00a0<strong>Vicus\u00a0Tuscus\u00a0<\/strong>at the Forum. Some of it is also visible near the church of\u00a0<strong>San Giorgio al Velabro\u00a0<\/strong>behind the Capitoline and Palatine Hills.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"303\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1971.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1971.png 303w, https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1971-300x224.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 303px) 100vw, 303px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not far from\u00a0the Cloaca Maxima is the\u00a0<strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Ponte Rotto<\/span>,\u00a0<\/strong>remnants of the City\u2019s\u00a0<strong>oldest stone bridge\u00a0<\/strong>built in the 2<sup>nd<\/sup>\u00a0century BC to connect the Foro\u00a0Boario\u00a0to\u00a0Trastevere.\u00a0From\u00a0it\u00a0was\u00a0tossed\u00a0the\u00a0body\u00a0of\u00a0emperor\u00a0Heliogabulus\u00a0(Marcus Aurelius\u00a0Antoninus\u00a0and\u00a0cousin\u00a0of\u00a0his\u00a0predecessor\u00a0emperor\u00a0Caracalla).\u00a0After a short reign of four\u00a0years\u00a0he was assassinated in 222\u00a0AD\u00a0at the age of twenty-two because\u00a0of\u00a0his\u00a0incompetence\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0ruler\u00a0and\u00a0his\u00a0violation\u00a0of\u00a0traditional\u00a0Roman religious\u00a0taboos.\u00a0Frequently\u00a0damaged\u00a0by\u00a0floods\u00a0over\u00a0the\u00a0course\u00a0of\u00a0centuries and\u00a0many\u00a0times\u00a0repaired,\u00a0much\u00a0of\u00a0it\u00a0was\u00a0washed\u00a0away\u00a0in\u00a0two\u00a0great\u00a0floods\u00a0in the 16<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0century and never again completely restored. Today only one arch of the original structure\u00a0remains.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"367\" height=\"207\" src=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1972.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1972.png 367w, https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1972-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 367px) 100vw, 367px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pliny, an early Roman historian, regarded the\u00a0the\u00a0Cloaca Maxima as the City\u2019s\u00a0\u2018greatest\u00a0achievement\u2019\u00a0because\u00a0it\u00a0enabled\u00a0it\u00a0to\u00a0transform\u00a0itself\u00a0from\u00a0a modest hill town to a genuine city. In a very real\u00a0sense\u00a0it can be said that Roman\u00a0history\u00a0commenced\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0construction\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Cloaca. It\u00a0began\u00a0as a\u00a0drainage ditch\u00a0dug through the Forum in the sixth century BC King Tarquinius Priscus. Dedicated Venus\u00a0Cloacina, the goddess of life and purification, a shrine in her honor stood&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2229","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2229\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}