The Water Supply system of Municipalities

In Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt

The common poor style of life in municipalities in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt left
no chance to the inhabitants to provide most of their houses with water supply and
sanitation system, though providing houses with fresh water for daily life needs was a
regularly hard effort for women in this era. This might explain: why water supply
systems were known only in a few places, which enjoyed this advantage. Actually,
these localities such as public baths, breweries, temples and Jewish Synagogues, were
in obligatory need for water in its’ regular work. Nevertheless, those were the only
mentioned places in the whole municipality, which got water supply. Furthermore, the
very high cost of pumping and disturbing water may explain the limited number of
units that enjoyed using fresh water through the water supply system. It’s worthy of
note that this cost was one of the obligations imposed by the municipalities
magistrates holding the honorable offices, this fact illustrate the high cost of Hellenise
and Romanise municipalities, that paid through the rich and upper layer of middle
class in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt.

Dr. Hussein M. A. Youssef

Cairo University, Beni Suef Branch,
Faculty of Arts, History Department.
Mailer Address: Post Box 337 Giza, 12515 Egypt.
H. Tel .: 002 02 8520345
Mob. : 002 0105042811