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Gemma C. M. Jansen, Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, and Eric M. Moormann (eds.). Roman Toilets: Their Archaeology and Cultural History. Babesch Annual Papers on Mediterranean Archaeology, 19. Leuven: Peeters, 2011. Pp. vii, 224. euro72.00 (pb.). ISBN 978-90-429-2541-0.
With contributions by the editors and J. Acero, H. Aspöck, D. Camardo, I. Feuereis, M. Flohr, A. Goldwater, A. Gräzer, E. N. A. Heirbaut, J. B. Hobson, S. Hoss, A. K. G. Jones, A.-M. Jouquand, Z. Kamash, J. Koehler, G. K. Kunst, A. Merletto, C. Molle, R. Neudecker, E. Owens, B. Petznek, S. Radbauer, R. Sauer, J. Seigne, G. E. Thüry, M. Trümper, J. van Vaerenbergh, K. Wheeler, A. Wilson, and G. Zuchtriegel.
This edited volume is the collective yet cohesive product of the Ancient Roman Toilet Workshop held at the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome and the American Academy in Rome from June 23-25, 2007. It contains the work of thirty-two authors, whose contributions range from chapter-length essays to extremely short case studies. Despite the number of contributors, their widely varying backgrounds, and the presentation of evidence in four different languages (English, French, German, and Italian), the editors have done an admirable job of providing a logically unified whole, rather than a series of disconnected chapters. As such, they have been largely successful in their attempt to create a handbook that provides a detailed portrait of latrines, both public and...