Arthurian Toilets

Glastonbury, England — In 1191 the Glastonbury Abbey was in financial trouble. The abbot directed the monks to dig in a particular spot in the cemetery, where they found a large oak casket holding a man and woman. Obviously this was Arthur and Guinevere! Well, there was a lead cross enscribed in Latin, reading something like Here lies Arturus, king of the Britons. So they were moved to a new tomb in what was then a fairly new cathedral. And so today you can stand in one spot and see two tombs of Arthur and Guinevere.

Both graves are clearly marked, but for detailed advance planning or finding them on Google Earth or the Ordnance Survey on-line mapping site, here are their coordinates:

To the north-east of the cathedral and just beyond the monks' quarters is a plumbing contraption with a mysterious sign REREDORTER. Elsewhere a map labels it Rere Dorter. This obscure term specifically means the latrine associated with a monastic establishment, which is usually located behind the dorter or sleeping quarters. See the glossary of Christine Powell's A Matter of Convenience for more medieval through early modern toilet terminology and the historical background of sanitation in the 17th century.

This monastic latrine is fed by small pipes entering at the upper end (right foreground in upper-left image, closest to the viewer in the lower-right image). That flow was separated into two channels down either side of the structure. I imagine a large open room with rows of toilets down the opposing long walls. The channels then join and disappear into a drain that ominously leads toward the abbot's kitchen (the conical structure seen in the image at lower-right). Not a good sanitary design, putting your group toilet uphill of the kitchen!

Looking SW over the rere dorter toward the abbey.	Looking north over the rere dorter.
Detail of the rere dorter.	Looking south over the rere dorter toward the kitchen.

Tradition dates the establishment of the abbey to 63 AD and the visit of Joseph of Arimathea.

What is known is that there was a community of monks during the reign of King Ine of Wessex, who is said to have directed the construction of a stone church in 712. New cloisters were built in the 960s. In September 1539 the abbey was stripped of its valuables, and the abbot was hanged, drawn and quartered in 1539. This was during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England, 1536-1541.

Also see the Medieval Scottish Toilets page for other ecclesiastical toilets of similar vintage.

Rose George's The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters is a fascinating description of sanitation conditions around the world. "2.6 billion people don't have sanitation. [....] Four in ten people have no access to any latrine, toilet, bucket, or box."

In September 2009, Morna Gregory and Sian James published a book titled Toilets of the World. It's pretty much the same theme that you find here — photographs and commentary on other people's plumbing.

The Porcelain God: A Social History of the Toilet, by Julie Horan, contends that civilization began with the toilet.

Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, edited by Laura Noren and Harvey Molotch, has essays by anthropologists, sociologists, and architects on the importance of the toilet, especially for urban dwellers.

Latrinae Et Foricae: Toilets in the Roman World describes the toilets of the Roman Empire from Iberia to Syria, and from North Africa to Hadrian's Wall in Britannia.

Toilets, Bathtubs, Sinks, and Sewers: A History of the Bathroom, explains the history of personal cleanliness and hygiene to children in grades 5-8.

If you're not bored yet, you might be interested in (or at least tolerate):

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