Page - 224 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

224 BettyArndt Theexistenceofexpensivecesspits shows thathumanfaeceswereseenasunwanted, ifnot as hazardous, too. The closeness of groundwaterwells and cesspits inmedieval towns is also oftendescribed as an expression of ignorance thatwill have resulted in very unhealthy condi- tions.However, the contaminationof groundwaterby chemical orbacterial pollution fromhu- man excreta through the earth is limited, and also dependent on the direction of the ground water flow (andanypossible contamination is neverupstream from its source). A studyby the WorldHealthOrganization found that the bacterial pollution grows for about fivemetres’ dis- tance,butwilldeclineagain in thenextsixmetres,while thechemicalpollutioncanscatter into amuchwider area.52 It seems that the pores in the soil lock upafter some time. Thepollution of the surroundingsbya cesspit is therefore limited in timeand space.Apparently, this canbe observed in excavations,when a ‘ring’ of differently coloured earth arounda cesspit is clearly visible. Insomecases,cesspitsweredeliberatelysealedwithclay impervious towater.53Vermic- ular eggs, often found in cesspits, will notmigrate through the earth into a nearbywell at all and are not taken in with drinking water. An infection with endoparasites is nearly always connectedwithpoorhygiene in food intake,whichmeansquite simplynotenoughhandwash- ing or eating uncleaned fruit or vegetableswhichwere treatedwith dung, or by eating rawor undercookedmeat or fish. Evenwhen it is still not advisable to have a cesspit and awell at a smalldistance fromeachother, thedangermightbeoverestimatedandfalselygeneralized from ourmodernhygienic point of view.54 In addition, the threat of bacterial (and chemical) pollu- tion, for instance,wasunknowninmedieval times,whereasbadsmellswere regardedasharm- ful and were therefore a topic of legislation and controversy of neighbours. It could only be seenas ignoranceonthis topic,whenthedangerofwaterpollutionthroughindustrialorhouse- holdgarbageor through faeceswouldhavebeen fully knownandunderstood. Insometowns, rulesexistedfor the locationofcesspits intheyard–demandingaminimum distance to theneighbouringplot. These rulesarebasedon theSachsenspiegel andcanalsobe found in local legislation. In Göttingen, latrines in the groundhad to be three feet away from the neighbour’s boundary, latrines over ground seven feet.55 The cesspitswere often placed at the far endof the yardsbehind thehouses, but couldalsobe foundunder rear buildings. Wealso know thatwater qualitywasmonitored. Thismight be the reasonwhy somewells were finally filled in with garbage and closed. Clear and sweet water was praised in reports of visitors and contemporaries.56 Information on cleaning,maintenance, repairs and technical improvements ofwells andwater supplies is also known frommany towns. Not least,many townshada largecentral fountain,whichwasanadornment for thewhole town. One of the oldest of its kind in Germany is the Romanesquemarket fountain in Goslar (Fig. 10): two large basins entirely cast of bronze57 (of the 12th century or around 1300, respec- tively) with a decoration of fabulous creatures carry a gilded, crowned imperial eagle. In the early 14th century, this fountainwill not onlyhavebeenof enormous value, but the fact that it is highly decorated and that it stands on themarket place shows the importance of clean and free freshwater– itwas something theburgherswereproudof. In2013, the foundationofGöttingen’s famousGänselieselFountain in frontof thehistorical Rathaus (built in 1270)was excavated. The fountain, only built in 1902 and still a landmark of the townscape, wasmoved from the centre to themargin of themarketplace in 1968, leaving the old foundation in the ground.58 On this occasion, the remains of a round sandstone basin of the first market well from 1568 were also found, as the oldest of three successive market 52Wagner–Lanoix 1958, 28f.; Arndt 1996a, 13;Arndt 2004b, 142 fig.9. 53 Arndt 2004a, 126;Arndt 2004b, 138. 54 Onwater conditions andassessinghealthhazards inmedieval towns:Röber 2016, 32. 55 vonderRopp 1907, 13. 53. 56 Zeit- undGeschichtsbeschreibung 1734, book II, ChapterVII, 65–67. 132–135. 57 Goslar on theHarzwasheadof the famousRammelsbergmining region (nowworldheritage site). 58 Arndt 2014, 318–323.