Well you could use a leaf a handful of moss or your left hand.
Sponge on a stick roman toilet.
A tersorium is an ingenious little device made by attaching a natural sponge from the mediterranean sea of course to the end of a stick.
We will respectfully remove it.
The xylospongium or tersorium also known as sponge on a stick was a hygienic utensil used by ancient romans to wipe their anus after defecating consisting of a wooden stick greek.
After the collapse of the roman empire toilet technology came to a bit of a standstill the book reads.
σπόγγος spongos fixed at one end.
Toilet paper did not exist in roman times so the romans used a spongia instead.
Here is a picture of an ancient roman restroom to help with the imagination and here is a 2 minute smithsonian video with some riveting information and visuals you will notice that the roman toilet opening extended downward in a keyhole shape which allowed for insertion of the famed sponge on a stick for wiping.
This was a sea sponge attached to a long stick.
If you look carefully at the illustrations you can see the gutters just in front of the seats where sea water ran continuously so they could rinse their.
One of the things they used to wipe themselves was a sponge on a stick which was.
The stick was long because of the design of roman toilets.
But instead of reaching for a roll of toilet paper an ancient roman would often grab a tersorium or in my technical terms a toilet brush for your butt.
Here s how it worked.
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You had a sponge that was on the end of a stick.
The most famous example of ancient toilet paper comes from the roman world.
The tersorium was shared by people using public latrines.
But what most romans used was something called a spongia a sea sponge on a long stick.
Roman public toilets consisted of a long marble bench with holes at the top to sit on and holes at the front for the sponge sticks.
The stick has a loop of leather at one end.
In ancient rome these were used to wipe yourself after going to the toilet.
When you finished doing your business you took the sponge on a stick wet it in the fresh water that flowed in that channel we spoke of on the floor.
In absence of toilette paper the butts cleaning device was a wooden stick with a sponge attached at one of the ends often literally a sea sponge or some type of cloth or animal wool.
ξύλον xylon with a sea sponge greek.
Public facilities had a long marble bench with holes on top for the obvious thing and holes at the front.
