Cesspit

Human waste could be thrown into streets or rivers, while communal toilets, called privies, often drained into cesspits. When these pits overflowed, waste spread into streets and nearby water supplies.

Later investigation linked the contamination to a nearby cesspit, from which sewage had polluted the pump’s well. The important connection was between human waste, drinking water and disease—not simply between unpleasant smells and illness.

Some homes, including those of wealthier people, had a cesspit for human waste. Unlike a flushing toilet, it had to be emptied with shovels. Peasants might use a small ditch and cover it afterwards, or go to nearby woods.