Water-supply--Its extent--The Aqueducts--Distribution in city--Drainage--Disposal of the Dead--Cremation and Burial--Catacombs--Public Health Regulations.
Roman sanitation practices, especially the distribution of clean water through a complex system of aqueducts allowed Roman cities to reach great sizes, and yet remain relatively healthy. After the collapse of the Roman Empire the infrastructure deteriorated and medieval cities became cesspools of filth and disease. It would be centuries before civilization crawled back up to the level that it had enjoyed during the Empire.