Dimensions
140 x 214 x 15mm
A quirky and fascinating history of plumbing and water supply, which takes readers across the centuries and around the globe uncovering the secret life of the world's most under-appreciated amenity.
The world's earliest known civilisation, the Harappan of the Indus Valley, circa 3000 BC, is noted for one professional's work more than anything else. Today, scholars marvel at his ingenuity and the precocious skills. Whenever, wherever, a society arose from this point on, it was on this humble labourer's back. The wise Athenians let him create unequalled contraptions, while the warlike Spartans wasted their time throwing spears and performing feats of strength and agility. The Romans worshiped his complex constructions, placing a goddess in charge of his effluent and give him the name by which we still know him today. European monks selfishly let him work his wonders in their monasteries while their neighbours walled in filth and disease. The Japanese made using his wares a cultural ritual. The British Empire awarded him medals of honour for his designs while the Americans and French played catch-up, always imitating but never quite equally the British professional's work.
Who is this mighty human who has lifted so many societies to mythical heights? This unsung hero of history? Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Brain of Drains, the Hub of Tubs, the Power of Showers, the Brewer of Sewers: The One and Only... Plumber.
