The meaning behind this act, of course, was to show that money is not tainted regardless of its origins. Roman historians Dio Cassius and Suetonius wrote about Vespasian’s unpopular tax in their history books saying that when Titus complained about it, his father reportedly picked up a gold coin and remarked, “Pecunia non olet”, or, “Money does not stink”. The Urine Tax was considered a disgusting policy by Vespasian’s son, and future emperor, Titus. Soon after this urine tax was imposed, Roman wits started calling the local toilets “vespasians”. The first public toilets in history were even introduced by Vespasian in 74 AD.Įtching showing the Cloaca Maxima (1757), Giovanni Battista Piranesi)
#Pecunia non olet origin series#
He began levying a series of taxes to raise funds, one of which was a charge for the collection of urine from public urinals in Rome’s Cloaca Maxima (great sewer) system.
Known for his love of money and ruthless taxation (which eventually brought the Roman empire out of debt, leaving a surplus in the treasury for the following emperor), Vespasian began the task of repairing and restoring the empire. On top of that, the empire had not a single silver coin in its treasury. When Vespasian became Emperor, the Roman Empire had just emerged from a civil war that almost brought about a complete collapse of their world. Ancient Roman Public ToiletsĪlthough the tax was eventually removed, it was reenacted around 70 AD with the succession of emperor Vespasian (ruler of Rome from 69-79 AD). The buyer of the urine paid the tax, then it was then collected from the cesspools and recycled as a valuable raw material for a number of chemical processes.
Urine was also collected from the public toilets of the upper classes. This tax was placed on the collection of urine at public urinals, since the lower classes of society had to relieve themselves in small pots which were then emptied into cesspools. In the first century AD, the Roman emperor Nero levied what was known as the “vectigal urinae”, which translates from Latin into “urine tax”. The “Vectigal Urinae” tax for Urine Collectors Fullonica (Dyer’s Shop) of Veranius Hypsaeus, fresco from Pompeii Often urine was used to bleach wool or linen and tan leather. Due to the ammonia content, urine was also important for the textiles industry, which was a booming trade during the Roman Empire. In Roman times, this was then used for laundry. If you leave urine out in an open vat it turns stale and produces ammonia through interaction with the air. Though most people today would decline the option of a urine-based toothpaste, it actually worked! This is because urine contains ammonia which is used in many household cleaners today. It was supposedly the strongest urine in the world and thus, the choice for whitening teeth. In fact, urine was so effective that it was used in toothpastes and mouthwashes up until the 1700s.Īs far as the Romans were concerned, the best and therefore the most expensive urine on the market came from the country of Portugal. The Romans believed that urine would make their teeth whiter and keep them from decaying so they used it as a mouthwash and mixed it with pummis to make toothpaste. Urine contains a wide array of important minerals and chemicals such as phosphorus and potassium. While today we flush or urine away without giving it a second thought, in ancient times it was considered a valuable commodity. Pecunia non olet meaning, “money does not stink” was a famous phrase coined as a result of this tax levied by the emperors Nero and Vespasian in the 1st century AD. Ancient laundries even used to collect urine in giant clay pots which were placed out in public for people to relieve themselves.Įventually, so much urine was used and collected that a tax was imposed by the Roman emperor. They used it as a cleaning agent for washing their clothes, brushing their teeth as well as for tanning leather. It was seen as much more useful than today. The ancient Romans have passed many traditions on to modern day society, but they certainly had a different perspective on urine.
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