Cloth walker

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Roman fresco from the Fullonica (fulling) of Veranius Hypsaeus in Pompeii.

Tuchwalker ( Latin Fullones ) were workers who had been doing laundry cleaning since Roman antiquity .

history

Since the Romans were not yet familiar with soap , they used animal and human urine as a cleaning agent , as its ammonia content removes even the greasiest dirt. In larger towns there were sewer collecting points, some of which were laid underground and some of which ran along the roadside, and where huge amphorae were used as collecting basins. In larger cities, the collection, distribution and disposal was organized by the magistrates through leased “urine works” . This flourishing " latrine industry " was operated by the "Tuchwalker", Latin fullo , plural: fullones, and thus represented a lucrative branch of industry. Emperor Vespasian (69–79) took advantage of this and imposed a "urine tax" on this trade . He justified his decision with the traditional words: " pecunia non olet " (money doesn't stink). At the same time, the cloth walkers also took care of the removal of liquid body excretions.

The given woolen outerwear was soaked in the collected urine in special wash tubs, then walked through with the bare feet of the cloth walkers and gently stamped. But there also seems to have been a certain “cloth walker pole” , because the apostle James the Younger was slain in 62 with such a pole . A subsequent rinse with clear water, mostly from a nearby stream or aqueduct , completed the cleaning process. This type of laundry cleaning was still common in some places into the 19th century. After the invention of the washboard and soap, this method was forgotten.

Evidence of the activities of the Fullones can be found in the excavated frescoes from Pompeii and in the Roman Museum in Schwarzenacker . In addition, their existence is mentioned since 1258 in Aachen and many other former Roman cities. Minerva served as the patron goddess of the cloth walkers as well as all craftsmen and traders , whose festival was celebrated annually on March 19th. Many family and street names still point to the earlier activities of the cloth walkers.

See also

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