DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61617#0280
THE STREETS 223
relate to the laying of the pavement; this was in place, even in
the unimportant side street of Region VII, when the inscrip-
tions were cut, and so must go back to the time before the
name of the month Quinctilis was changed to lulius, our July.
Pompeii was paved, therefore, before 44 b.c.
The stepping stones were particularly useful when there was
a heavy rain; for the water then flowed in torrents down the
streets, as it does to-day in Catania, where the inhabitants have
light bridges which they throw over the crossings after a
storm. There were covered conduits to carry off the surface
drainage of the Forum, one of which runs under the Strada
delle Scuole to the south, the other under the Via Marina to
the west. Elsewhere the water rushed down the streets till it
came near the city walls, where it was collected and carried
off by large storm sewers. These are still in successful opera-
tion, as are also the conduits at the Forum. One is at the west
end of the Via dei Soprastanti, another at the west end of
Nola Street; and a third leads from Abbondanza Street, nearly
opposite the entrance of the Stabian Baths, toward the south.
There were other sewers in the city, but they were of small
dimensions and have not been fully investigated. They seem
generally to have been under sidewalks. They were not designed
to receive surface water, but the drainage of houses. They can-
not have served this purpose fully, however, for most of the
closets were connected, not with the sewers, but with cesspools.
After the lapse of more than eighteen centuries, the visitor
at Pompeii will distinguish at a glance the business streets from
those less frequented. The sides of the former are lined with
shops ; along the latter are blank walls, broken only by house
doors, with now and then a small window high above the pave-
ment. The greatest volume of business was transacted on the
two main thoroughfares, Stabian and Nola streets; next in
importance were Abbondanza Street, leading from the Forum
toward the Sarno Gate, and the continuation of Augustales
Street from the north end of the Forum toward the east. First
in the list of quiet thoroughfares is the broad Mercury Street,
along which were many homes of wealth; the north end of it is
closed by the city wall.
relate to the laying of the pavement; this was in place, even in
the unimportant side street of Region VII, when the inscrip-
tions were cut, and so must go back to the time before the
name of the month Quinctilis was changed to lulius, our July.
Pompeii was paved, therefore, before 44 b.c.
The stepping stones were particularly useful when there was
a heavy rain; for the water then flowed in torrents down the
streets, as it does to-day in Catania, where the inhabitants have
light bridges which they throw over the crossings after a
storm. There were covered conduits to carry off the surface
drainage of the Forum, one of which runs under the Strada
delle Scuole to the south, the other under the Via Marina to
the west. Elsewhere the water rushed down the streets till it
came near the city walls, where it was collected and carried
off by large storm sewers. These are still in successful opera-
tion, as are also the conduits at the Forum. One is at the west
end of the Via dei Soprastanti, another at the west end of
Nola Street; and a third leads from Abbondanza Street, nearly
opposite the entrance of the Stabian Baths, toward the south.
There were other sewers in the city, but they were of small
dimensions and have not been fully investigated. They seem
generally to have been under sidewalks. They were not designed
to receive surface water, but the drainage of houses. They can-
not have served this purpose fully, however, for most of the
closets were connected, not with the sewers, but with cesspools.
After the lapse of more than eighteen centuries, the visitor
at Pompeii will distinguish at a glance the business streets from
those less frequented. The sides of the former are lined with
shops ; along the latter are blank walls, broken only by house
doors, with now and then a small window high above the pave-
ment. The greatest volume of business was transacted on the
two main thoroughfares, Stabian and Nola streets; next in
importance were Abbondanza Street, leading from the Forum
toward the Sarno Gate, and the continuation of Augustales
Street from the north end of the Forum toward the east. First
in the list of quiet thoroughfares is the broad Mercury Street,
along which were many homes of wealth; the north end of it is
closed by the city wall.