![]() This could even be valuable items such as full money purses and the like – perhaps this was the origin of the proverbial spendthrift ‘pissing his money away’ ( Geldscheisser in German). On the other, often things were simply lost in the ‘smallest room’. On the one hand, kitchen waste and general garbage are deliberately disposed of in these ‘universal waste disposal units’. Today’s archaeologists are only rarely bothered by the smell of the erstwhile contents, since the composting process is usually complete – unless the latrine was below groundwater level, in which case archaeologists can justifiably speak of an ‘indescribable aroma’!Īt first glance, it may come as a surprise how many of these finds ended up in a latrine. This dirty job was done by a separate occupational category in its own right, of lower social status, whose practitioners were also referred to, not without irony, as ‘gold diggers’. These shafts, which were widespread in the late Middle Ages, had to be emptied at regular intervals. ‘Latrines’ are shafts or pits reinforced with walls or timberwork, which received the refuse from lavatories (‘privies’). The ‘double seat’ of the lavatory is clearly visible in the centre. One hundred or so latrines were excavated during digs in Lübeck city centre between 20, including this privy dating from the early 13th century. Waste is a mirror of the society that makes it, and the archaeologist’s task is to unscramble this distorted picture through the filter of its often very haphazard preservation, and the cultural distance of several hundred years. Much more often, it deals with lost and discarded things: broadly speaking, waste. So, in methodological terms, archaeology as a discipline lies somewhere between the natural sciences and the humanities.Īrchaeology rarely deals with structures damaged by chance – the evidence of natural disasters such as the volcanic eruption that buried people and houses in the Roman city of Pompeii – or deliberately hidden objects. If written and pictorial sources are available, these will also be taken into account. But nonetheless, archaeology asks historical and sociological questions, and tries to answer them. The tools and procedures used by archaeologists on a dig are more like those of geologists than historians. It relies on the extraction of its most important sources – found objects, deposits and remains of building structures and deposits – from the soil. I suppose it also implies that he’s inclined to say “no” to everything except money.Archaeology can justifiably be described as probably the ‘dirtiest’ of the historical sciences. It implies that he’s willing to take money wherever he can get it, and it’s an allusion to the fact that he’s more qualified to be a sanitation engineer than a college president. We’re told that the warden was “an elderly civil servant,” not an academic, and that his biggest accomplishment was that he had written “a monumental report on National Sanitation.” ![]() When Emperor Vespasian’s son Titus complained about the disgusting nature of the urine tax, the emperor held up a gold coin and said “Pecunia non olet.” The phrase goes back to the tax paid by those who bought the contents of public urinals as a source of ammonia. It’s a reference to “Pecunia non olet” which translates as “Money doesn’t stink.” The idea is that money is money, and it doesn’t matter if it comes from a distasteful source. ![]() “Must be some Latin thing.” This time I looked it up. The first time I read the novel I zoomed past this tidbit. N.O., which stood for Non-Olet, was the nickname of Charles Place, the warden of Bracton. I’m going through it slowly this time, paying attention to details I glossed over before.įor example, early in the book we’re told that the head of a college has the nickname N.O. I’ve been rereading That Hideous Strength. ![]()
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