Wednesday
Apr012009
Dirty Jobs: Classical Edition
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 12:55PM
"...and he was transfigured before them. 3And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them." (Mark 9:2-3, KJV)
File this under “random gross Bible trivia.” A while back, during one of our dinners at LIFEgroup, someone made the mistake of wondering out loud how ancient people cleaned their clothes. Then I made the mistake of telling them…at the dinner table.
While I don’t know how the ancient Israelites cleaned their clothes, I do know how the Romans went about it. There’s a particularly interesting description of the process in a book I got for Christmas called Working IX to V: Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns, and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World by Vicki León.
One of the “prized professions” that León describes is that of fuller—the classical equivalent to our dry cleaners. Fullers cleaned garments by soaking them in a giant vat of cleaning solution and then transferring them to another container to stomp them clean. They would then ring out the clothes—a job that might take two people, depending on the size of the garment.
Perhaps you’re wondering why this should make for less than germane dinner conversation. I haven’t told you about the cleaning solution. The Romans hadn’t yet adopted the use of soap. Ironically, the German “barbarians” of the day were using it, but not the Romans.
Instead, the Romans used a mixture of potash and urine. Yes, urine. Since it is rich in ammonia, it actually has cleaning properties. According to León, the fuller would place chamber pots at various street corners. (Although I guess it’s not really a “chamber” pot if it’s not in a chamber--more of an extremely portable potty.) Throughout the day, various citizens would provide the vital ingredient, and the fuller would then retrieve the pots. The stomping process was called the saltus fullonicus, or “fuller’s dance.” It’s believed that managers even kept their fullers moving with live music.
Yup. Just another reason to be glad that we live in 21st Century America. I trust you’ll breath a sigh of relief the next time you load up a dishwasher and add a cap full of something that’s not urine.
I wonder if Mike Rowe would take this job.
File this under “random gross Bible trivia.” A while back, during one of our dinners at LIFEgroup, someone made the mistake of wondering out loud how ancient people cleaned their clothes. Then I made the mistake of telling them…at the dinner table.
While I don’t know how the ancient Israelites cleaned their clothes, I do know how the Romans went about it. There’s a particularly interesting description of the process in a book I got for Christmas called Working IX to V: Orgy Planners, Funeral Clowns, and Other Prized Professions of the Ancient World by Vicki León.
One of the “prized professions” that León describes is that of fuller—the classical equivalent to our dry cleaners. Fullers cleaned garments by soaking them in a giant vat of cleaning solution and then transferring them to another container to stomp them clean. They would then ring out the clothes—a job that might take two people, depending on the size of the garment.
Perhaps you’re wondering why this should make for less than germane dinner conversation. I haven’t told you about the cleaning solution. The Romans hadn’t yet adopted the use of soap. Ironically, the German “barbarians” of the day were using it, but not the Romans.
Instead, the Romans used a mixture of potash and urine. Yes, urine. Since it is rich in ammonia, it actually has cleaning properties. According to León, the fuller would place chamber pots at various street corners. (Although I guess it’s not really a “chamber” pot if it’s not in a chamber--more of an extremely portable potty.) Throughout the day, various citizens would provide the vital ingredient, and the fuller would then retrieve the pots. The stomping process was called the saltus fullonicus, or “fuller’s dance.” It’s believed that managers even kept their fullers moving with live music.
Yup. Just another reason to be glad that we live in 21st Century America. I trust you’ll breath a sigh of relief the next time you load up a dishwasher and add a cap full of something that’s not urine.
I wonder if Mike Rowe would take this job.
tagged Bible, Rome in Amen Corner, Blog
Bible, Rome in Amen Corner, Blog
Reader Comments (7)
I guess next time somone pees in the bed they should just stomp on it and say "all clean" . Eeeewwwww!
Thank you for the lunch warning! I knew about the amonia type of properties of urine and that it was (maybe still is used) in bleaching and curing animal hides (ever read Clan of the Cave Bear series?)... gross to think of wearing close that smell of amonia much less urine!
I do think that Mike Rowe would have a try at it, seen him mucking about in it that is fer sure!
Latte
I sat down to eat my lunch and read some interesting blog- right away you told me I shouldn't eat my lunch. How did you know? Does the book mention how they got the pee smell out? What dirty smell on your clothes can possibly be worse than the smell of urine?
--cynthia, Funny, all that wishing for my kids to stop peeing in the bed when I should just open up a sheet laundering service.
--carla, it seems like there should be a "rinse cycle," doesn't there? She doesn't mention one. Maybe it's just another way that we are part of a more sanitized world. The sights, sounds, and smells of the Roman market place would be much less like Farm Fresh and much more like the markets of the developing world.
Mmmm all this talk reminds me of the rotten shark in Iceland. I can't wait to read the warning on the next post.
Yes, that would definitely be random gross Bible trivia!!!!
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