Rain, Rain, Go Away: Dealing with Wastewater and Rain in Ancient Egypt
january 2020 | Vol. 8.1
By Heidi Köpp-Junk
An efficient drainage system for rain and wastewater is important for every complex society. Even today, water discharge is a central issue in Egypt, especially in the global metropolis Cairo. While irrigation is frequently discussed in Egyptology, dewatering systems are only rarely investigated.
No known depictions or textual sources mention dewatering systems, but there are a variety of archeological finds that elucidate the range, innovation, and high quality of ancient Egyptian engineering skills long before the arrival of Roman water management techniques.
Egyptian methods for dewatering in temples, tombs, and houses are well attested from the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE onward. For example, dewatering systems are used for rain as well as wastewater from bathrooms and kitchens, and there is evidence for these systems in houses, temples, and tombs. Moreover, used water also had to be removed from industrial sites such as those used for dyeing, washhouses, and mummification workshops, since considerable amounts of water were necessary during the embalming process.
There were many methods for channeling water, including canals and pipelines. Canals were either built with stone blocks or slabs, or were cut in a u-shape into stone blocks, which were either covered or left open. It is not always easy to determine whether an example was originally an open channel or whether covering stones were removed later. The u-shaped channels were made of impermeable sandstone, granite, or mostly commonly, limestone. Gutters were usually between 10–20 cm wide, but their depths varied greatly, from 0.2–20 cm. Gutters cut directly into bedrock or which were sunk into the floors of a building are less frequent.
Pipelines were usually made of clay, although a single metal example is also known. These clay pipes were not reused vessels but were produced specifically for water management, with one fitting neatly inside the other.
Clay pipes in the Repit-Temple of Ptolemaios XII at Athribis, covered by tiles (photo: H. Köpp-Junk)
The diameter ranges from 4.5 cm, as attested in the Repit-Temple at Athribis, to 30-38 cm, as in Temple A at Tell el-Balamun. The pipes are often protected by a clay bed and covered by tiles. Tubes made of wood or lead such as in Rome or Greece are not archaeologically documented in ancient Egypt.
Downspouts were rare, but complex systems for roof drainage were used in temples since the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. These drainage systems often ending in gargoyles, which are a typical element of dewatering systems.
Gargoyle in the temple of Edfu (photos: H. Köpp-Junk)
Gargoyle in the temple of Karnak (photos: H. Köpp-Junk)
Usually, only the beginning or endpoint of the pipeline system, or a piece in the middle is attested; complete systems are seldom preserved. Systems end in basins or vessels, dry wells, shafts, and waste pits, or they are directed toward the Nile. From time to time, the water was left to seep into the ground.
Aqueducts are not typical Egyptian features, nor are other water features. Piping systems that use water to generate pressure and movement are not attested with any certainty. Once developed and proven effective, traditional systems continued to be used. No technology completely replaced another: new methods were used parallel to existing ones. U-shaped channels are documented first, and clay tubes were added later. Covered channels with a very large diameter are well-documented in Graeco-Roman times. A copper pipeline is attested only once, so apparently this technology did not prevail.
While integrating a bend in a gutter stone in order to lead water around a corner is documented, no curved clay pipes are known.
A u-shaped channel with a bend (Borchardt, L.: Das Grabdenkmal des Sahu-Re I: Der Bau. Leipzig 1910, fig. 105)
If a pipeline was composed of clay pipes, individual straight segments were arranged in a bend.
Pipeline in the Repit-Temple at Athribis with the segments being arranged in a bend (photo: H. Köpp-Junk)
Pipeline in the Repit-Temple at Athribis with the segments being arranged in a bend (photo: H. Köpp-Junk)
Beginning in the 3rd millennium BCE, monumental Egyptian structures were equipped with dewatering systems, like Khufu’s pyramid in Giza (constructed ca. 2620-2580 BCE). The rainwater was collected and passed through stone channels, leading to covered or uncovered basins, or it was allowed to seep into the soil. In the southern fortress of Buhen (about 2000 BCE), there were installations in some of the streets meant to transfer the water from inside the fortress to the outside in order to protect the buildings.
At Buhen stone blocks with u-shaped cutouts were installed in the center of the streets, which were paved with fired mudbricks. At the intersections of these stones, additional stones were placed underneath to prevent tilting. The water drains passed underneath the walls, led outside of the fortress, and were then directed towards the Nile.
One of the streets in the fortress Buhen with a u-shaped channel in the middle of the road (Köpp-Junk 2015, fig. 16)
While a few house models show rainwater systems, gargoyles are only represented on mastaba tombs and the most complex systems were found in temples.
The temple of Seti I at Luxor (photo: H. Köpp-Junk)
Dewatering system on the roof of the temple of Seti I at Luxor. (after Clarke, Engelbach 1930, Fig. 180)
Temple roofs were sometimes slightly inclined or equipped with other installations in order to carry the rainwater from the roof to the lower level, leading the water to gargoyles or eaves. The water then fell into the temple courtyards, where it was collected and drained outside the temple walls. Sometimes this was done by means of covered stone canals as in the Repit-Temple at Athribis, which ended in a transport or irrigation canal.
One of the canals in the Repit-Temple at Athribis with a small channel in the middle of the ground (photo: H. Köpp-Junk)
It is apparent that Egyptian water engineers were very highly skilled since earliest times. The development and use of individual components demonstrates a high level of understanding of the problems of drainage and technical proficiency. The dewatering systems were designed with careful consideration of site conditions, including geology and gradients, and the engineers utilized techniques developed since the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, like pipelines, covered or uncovered channels, and shower trays. Even today, gullies in the form of basins sunk into the ground and covered with a perforated lid are utilized. The primary difference is that instead of a bend channel being sunk into a stone block, today’s pipes are made of steel or PVC.
One area that has seen significant improvement is roof drainage. The ancient Egyptian principle of roof drainage with inclines, gutters, and gargoyles finds its modern equivalent in sloping roofs with gutters, but these systematically move the water through a downspout instead of just letting it fall from the gargoyles into the courtyards.
Apart from systems for rainwater, those for waste water are attested in bathrooms, found in temples, tombs, palaces, and houses of the elite. The earliest known bathrooms are located in tombs from Dynasty 2 at Saqqara. They usually have a rectangular structure, although in one case, dating to Dynasty 3, it is round. Bathrooms of the elite were found in Amarna, and royal bathrooms are attested in the palaces of Malqata and Medinet Habu, with the latter often being mistakenly referred to as a toilet.
One of the bathrooms in the palace of Ramesses III in Medinet Habu (photo: H. Köpp-Junk)
The bathrooms, often consisting of a monolithic stone slab and tiled sidewalls, were constructed like a modern shower tray with raised edges. On one side, a hole leading to a spout was installed, transferring the used water into a basin. From this basin, it had to be removed with vessels, or was evacuated outside the house with the help of a pipe. Another method was to transfer it from the stone slab and its spout directly into a vessel and remove it once it was filled. The bather stood on the large stone slab and either poured water over himself or was showered by servants. The water was provided in vessels that were positioned next to the stone slab. There was no direct water supply by canals or pipelines, neither in kitchens nor in bathrooms. Whether the water was warmed or cold is unclear, but it probably depended on the outside temperature and the season. By pouring the water through baskets, the same effect as a modern showerhead was created.
Toilets were also known in ancient Egypt. Some were permanently installed like those in Amarna, whereas others were movable and could even be used during travels like the one found in the tomb of Kha, now in the Museo Egizio in Turin. The permanent toilets consist of two walls parallel to each other with a gap in between. The toilet seat was made of wood, terracotta, or limestone. Under the seat, a vessel with sand was positioned, which was replaced after use. Therefore no real water closets existed in ancient Egypt.
Despite the lack of textual and pictorial evidence regarding drainage, the archaeological and architectural evidence for wastewater and rain water technology shows that these problems were being addressed from the Old Kingdom onward. The engineering abilities of Pharaonic Egypt did not rank behind those of Roman times, but form the basis for their emergence more than two thousand years later.
How to cite this article:
Köpp-Junk, H. 2020. “Rain, Rain, Go Away: Dealing with Wastewater and Rain in Ancient Egypt” The Ancient Near East Today 8.1. Accessed at: https://anetoday.org/wastewater-rain-ancient-egypt/.
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