Tam Stephanie

8/3/2019 Tam Stephanie

1/97

Phenomenology of Sewerage

Stpi T, mac I 2011


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aCKnowleDgemenTS

T k tt sutd i tis tsis c u b dividd ittwo parts: my eld research in Ahmedabad, India and my writingd sc t hvd d mIT. T ctibuts,ds, d suppts v b ct t tis pjcts

xistc, d ts d but cti t pp us sd ti ti d sucs it v tpst t s.

adbd, gujtBi Pt, hCP pi dptt d diisttistaff, Manvita Baradi and the Urban Management Centre ofce,muks S, Jti mt, apuv Pik, mju Pdp dt nvsj Tust, asis mis, hisu Pik, SstBdpd, Bij Btt, Bti Bs, Kkib Bd i, Dvdbi Pk, Susbi P,Ktibi d litb Ski.

Cbid, msscussttsati Pic, Js wsct d t mIT wt rdigup, t hvd atp Dptts Pitic ec

wki gup, Stv Ct d t hvd Uivsit Ct midd est Studis wt wksp 2011, Sus muctt,rid gtt, PaCh, d t hvd gSD P witCitt.

fi, tk u t t ds tiss d, ditd dctd dts. I pticu, tk u t adi Kkd ad Ts ti dtid dbck.


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aBSTraCT

InTroDUCTIon

a Idust i Stsis 1

T T ncssit 5T Pic mtd 8

T lit ldscp S 15

rvsi Sctic Tvst 19

Phenomenology of Sewerage

gtsqu fiss i t r Cc 21

T hpp S Civ 37

ai i t Pisi euts 49

Ahmedabads Khric Drains 62

ConClUSIon

Pcivi Ctp S 78

worKS CITeD


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aBSTraCT

Sewerage design has been in stasis for the past fty years: prescribed by manuals and codes,ss ssud t b css t ub sitti, d csid t t xptis is. hv, t dquc cut s pctics is qustib. Citicis

ti vit ipct s sucd, d it s bc c i ub pi tt sshave an inuence beyond conveying sewage.

Istd ki t s iti t k its ucti, tis tsis ppss tunderstand the inuence of sewers within a broader framework, examining qualities that aresuperuous to their operation. It is these qualities that afford opportunity for rethinking thei s, d t c ct t xpic ub i. Dpi td pic dscipti, u s ssts css dit s, cutus, dlocalities are used to illustrate the numerous experiences that can result from the superuousquitis s.

T jit ctp s ssts dsid dvpi cutis t is pssi d sitti. It is i -ic ctxt tt s dsic b cuptd s spti vt, d dsis pivt i spdi tt ds t ub p. giv t icsi psis istuctu s t picpt i -ic usi pjcts, s is i d dsiss iput t dvcsst dsi d tb ddss t d-t-d ivd xpic iizd cuitis.


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T 1

an InDUSTry In STaSIS

In 1967, the Urban Land Institute pointed out that the basic parameters for sanitary

s dsi st t t tu t ctu d, t st pt, v id

unquestioned since that time (qtd. in Ben-Joseph 76). Sewerage design is presumed to havecd its csut suti, d t s b itt t i zi sss ucti

v ti, ti vit ipct, t scipitic c tt suuds t, d t

udi ciss tt cissi, buid d iti t. Squstd i vt

di dptts, cut pcsss s dsi cu udd b is

d dsi spsibiit t us d us tub. I t Uitd Stts, citis

pubis idividu s cds, i t cutis pscib ti uidis.

austi ss c t t wt Svics assciti austisSewerage Code

of Australia, i t Ct Pubic ht d evit eii oistis

Manual on Sewerage and Sewage Treatmentgoverns Indian sewers (Bandyopadhyay).

In the latter, one nds on the rst page an announcement that the manual is prepared

by The Expert Committee (Ministry of Urban Dev.): the invocation of this self-validating body

justies the manual as the foremost national dictum on sewerage. The association of sewerage

design with expertise resurfaces in Tabors, Shapiro and RogerssLand Use and the Pipe, ic

advocates for the inclusion of planners in sewerage design while admitting that the [d]etailed

design of sewerage systems requires a high level of professional expertise (2). While planners

InTroDUCTIon


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T 2

can identify and quantify parameters for sewerage design, engineers remain the experts when

it cs t t ctu dsii.

While sewerage is admittedly complicated, by no means have engineers solved it nor

ds its cpxit pc it bd t citiqu d udstdi -is. extdi

Tbs, Spi d rss k, e B-Jsp qustis t cut s

psts t bst suti d susts tt it istd bs t utdtd ii d

planning practices (79). Indeed, sewerage design has largely been in stasis: the latest peer-

vid pps itduci ivtiv s dsi dt t 1980s. rct pps

concerned with developing models for sewerage ventilation and sewage ow in existing systems

t t ppsi s sizi pips di it s tt. B-Jsp

suggests that maintenance of sewerage status quo is due to path dependence (93), where a

pticu tc is ttd t pssi up tt is ckdd t b t xpt

(94). Once engineers were deemed the guardians of sewerage, other professions have avoided

iti, d v ssud tt s is t bst tt it c b.

ev i 1824, Pisi pubic t xpt axd-J-Bptist Pt-Ducttcpid t uctc -is t it ss. h st ccid

academics and even an architect to sound out the Rome and London sewers, mais toujours

inutilement; un sujet aussi humble peut-il xer lattention du curieux ou du simple amateur, et

quel intrt peut-il offrir lartiste? (10).1 Ss t xciti u t ppu

1 but always uselessly; how can such a humble subject capture the attention of the curious or the simpletu, d t itst c it t t tist?


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ttti, t sttic cpi subjcts tists. ax Scbis stud

Roman sanitation similarly nds that [l]iterary evidence concerning sewers and latrines in the

Roman world is extremely meager (408). Despite the Roman cloacaes renown, information

but t is d s s b dd cki:

[a]rchaeologists rarely concern themselves with either latrines or

ss. hc t xtt t udud s-tks

Pompeii, Ostia, and Rome are [sic] still very imperfectly known.

n is t cut ck cic pti i tis

counterbalanced by a sufciency of evidence in ancient literary

sources (400)

Pists t t 2008 wd ecic fu bsvd tt t is btt siti css

scts t xtt s cditis. mt Ct-Cs t Un Sct-gs

advis Bd wt d Sitti d t gb ad Cuci wt Scuit

points out that [s]ystem managers tend not to be sufciently aware of change possibilities;

nancial institutions work from current concepts of what a wastewater system is; and politicianstend to shy away from programmes related to sanitation and wastewater (124). Standards and

cds v ssiizd s, ki it ibiit t pps dic cs t t

sewage is handled. Moreover, the presence of sewerage experts intimidates other disciplines

d dissuds t i it s bcus t d tsvs idqut.


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S is v i dvpd pspctiv s, but b s

sud tis b t vid pspctiv. ev tu ss t visu pit,

t v is ipct ub i d ct t discipis, icudi ub

pi. T css t ub dvpt, ic dpds up t vibiit

svicd sits: i fix Cut, Viii, it s s, t pi, tt dtid

development patterns (Tabors 1). In 1963, Chapin named sewerage as one of ve major

techniques for shaping urban growth (Tabors 110), and the 1974 Council on Environmental

Quality concluded that [s]ewers and sewage treatment plants are replacing highways as prime

determinants of the location of development (qtd. in Tabors 1). Not only does sewerage have

an inuential role in planning, it also consumes a signicant amount of funding. Ben-Joseph

stits tt aic cuitis i spd v $1 tii t upd d buid

wastewater infrastructure over the next twenty years (78). Sewerages inuence is extensive and

bd t is cc it cducti s.

Aside from functional inuence, sewerage has impact upon behaviour. In her expos

b sitti, Bitis juist rs g cs ttti t t iptc udstdi pcpti d bviu t t ipsi tp-d dcisis:

[top-down bureaucrats] are the ones who put toilets on peoples

ds i t tiki ki t b bus s

uttctiv pti istd. T t is d stt

s, t ksp ttds d t suits dt

t t d it dit. T t stt sttus qu

sanitation (237)


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nt ds g ttibut sittis stsis t istituti uctc t ivt, s

us tt ivti sud st udstdi sitti is pcivd. h

s is pcivd cts t t pubic tts it, ic is cuci t t ctivss d

efciency of sewerage as a sanitation device. Making sewerage available is by itself insufcient

sic bviu is t bs stuctus t b vt. S is ittd it u

vd utis, d ct vut its succss bsd its pc s istd

system: Our most basic bodily function, and how we choose to deal with it, leaves its signs

v tid it vti, s itict itit it u i s ss it

the city. Under our feet, at the edge of sight, but there (George 12).

The Tyranny of neCeSSITy

lck s ivti is du t t bi tt t s ssts

cut dsid is css. Ud t is cssit, t t dsi d

construction of sewer systems justied, but also the maintenance practices that they entail.asis mis is dvct u kss its i adbd, d us

that manhole cleaning should be understood as a social need rather than an occupation. In

is vi, ci is ivitb bcus ss css. wi ci

ct b iitd, t sttus ci s jb ut t b vkd bcus t

conditions that workers are subject to are far from fullling any legitimate denition of work.

Istd citicizi t tt ss dsid, mis cuss ci t

sttus u ks.


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Tam 6

Mishras acceptance of the sewerage system as a necessity reects a pervasive

udstdi s s ivitb. I The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of

Human Waste and Why It Matters, rs g ddicts cpt t lds cstucti

of Public Necessities. In 1848, the Public Health Act decreed public privies a necessity in

order to alleviate public stench and disease (qtd. in George 132). Privies were presumed to be

t tt pubic dcti cud b dt it. Td, t Uitd Stts ctius t

associate sanitation with necessity by mandating the need for a Certicate of Convenience and

ncssit b ps tit c cstuct pt s utiit. Ss buit t

the behest of public need or in the public interest (Jones 428).

Tt ic is css ss t t suviv u: sti is css i it

cts t biit t suviv. Idd, ck sitti ds v csqucs t suviv

cid ud t 5 s pi cus dt is di diss,

faecal ingestion (WHO Preventing Disease). The multiplying effects of sanitation can lead

t ipvts i ducti, ic, d i quit, but ss c s v dtius

csqucs up t: J mcKs dcutCrapshoot: The Gamble with our Wastes tt ss puti t vit d tui ccb cs it txic sud.

McKay reveals that sewers do not actually solve the problem of human waste but simply

v it sit, tspti it uttd t u sits dupi it it t c.

S ctizs d ts cs, cbii t it idusti cics d

fi sti Crapshoot: cv bt ci sud tu s ttt pt.

Suc: nti fi Bd Cd


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pii it it uusb ps, i cs ud b cpstb i it dctizd d kpt

idusti substcs.

wi cic sitti2 s s dctizd s ccti d

ttt tt is vit id, it quis csistt itc b s,

ic tis -sc bviu c d -t citt. ld b Bkis

rjp, mIT ttptd t stbis cic sitti i Pid, Idi3, but it s

too sophisticated for the villagers to maintain (Pradeep). Even an organization such as the

evit Sitti Istitut, ic pts dctizd s ssts i u

areas, admits that sewers are ultimately needed (Parekh). Decentralized sewage systems have yet

t b dvpd t pit idspd us is sib, ki tsptti cs t

ctizd cti t st pisi pti.

assui tt ss pvid dd ctizd tsptti cs, t is

t qusti t t ss cut pscibd b us css. Tt ic

is necessary has certain causal properties (Shalkowski 56) that fulll the need which called for

its existence in the rst place, but it also possesses properties that are extraneous, unexpectedand non-causal (62). If we were to consider sewers necessary, we would have to accept that some

pts t xtus, d t t pdtid d p t ivti.

Extraneous or supervenience properties are not only inevitable, they are interlinked

it cus pptis: hu d Dvid lis pps tt cus pptis ti

non-causal properties of other things (71). In turn, [c]ausal relations are xed by the noncausal

2 Ecological sanitation or eco-san treats human excreta as a resource that is processed on site via toiletsit pcssi cbs tt ti d cpst xct. f iti, s es t .Ecological Sanitation. Stck: SIDa, 1998.

3 For a full account of the project research and proposal, see Rajagopal et al. From Promise to Performance:Ecological Sanitation as a Step Toward the Elimination of Manual Scavenging in India (2006). PDF.


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relations of other events (71). The properties that are necessary to sewers are superuous to

other events and objects, just as properties that are superuous to sewers are necessary for other

events and objects. There is no way to isolate sewerages causal properties from the inuence of

the rest of the world: [i]f we were given complete information about the intrinsic qualities of a

squc vts, t ud b ti i tt iti ic cud t us t tt

sequence is causal. Causal distinctions are dictated only by the entire history of the world (71).

Things that are deemed superuous to the sewerss causal relationship with human waste

v ipct up t cus tisips. T ti quitis ss, t kids

udud spcs tt t , t kids itis t d, t tisips tt t

st bt t cit d t udud ts cctistics xtus t t

sss ucti, but t i tu dti t cus tisip t sts vts.

T ct t tt spcs, bjcts d pp bv ud ss, istiti sis

external events that then appear to be determined. Sewerages superuous qualities result in

asis miss ssti tt ci ss u is cssit.

In that way, qualities that seem superuous within the framework of sewerage are inct css d v t s iptc s t cvc s s

ones framework to include other objects and events. To truly embrace the denition of sewerage

s cssit is t ciz uc ptti t is c, d uc sss

superuous qualities can determine external conditions. Sewerages superuous qualities are

pivt t its utu dvpt: t ts quitis pptuitis tiki

ss, t s v t cpcit t dti tisips bt pp d bjcts

utsid t ss.


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The PhenomenologICal meThoD

Istd ki t t cus pptis tt ss t d t t suppsd

t d, tis tsis i b cusi t ss : ti psc s p, d t

cts t pduc tt xtus t ti puptd ucti. Ti ctiv vu, t

kinds of perceptions that they engender it is through exploration of these supervenience

quitis i xtt s ssts tt t ptti ss dvpt c b

discvd. Scti s dit ctits d s tt dp vi tds

di s, t itt tis stud is t ipt t t d udstdi t

divs pcptu quitis tt ss pssss. wi ts quitis c b d d

ppid t t dsi t bjcts d spcs, t itt is t csid ts quitis s

ctsts iii t tt ss c k, , d b. ec s dscipti

is t b ttd s spt xpic t d t ct t pvcti, t t

dsi uid cpis bt xtt ssts. T is dittd d t cusi

xisti ssts sic it cus picti xtt xpics istd ivti s. hv, pt t bjctiv i dscibi ts xpics is t dvct dsii

from a perspective of perceptual impact, and it is difcult to conceive of such abstract and

subjctiv quitis itut xtt xps. extt ss d v pcptu cts, d it is

ts cts tt ut t b csidd i tiki t ss c b ik.


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T pic td is dpd t dscib t xpic ts s

ssts bcus it cuss ttti p d ti cts istd di

p s pducts xt cs. I di s, it psizs t biit d

bitiss s dsi, t t pti it s dtid b pitic uvs,

engineerss intents or available construction methods. The superuous qualities of these systems

t cus dtid, d pst distict dsi cic tt c b cd.

Following Merleau-Pontys denition of the phenomenological method as a matter of

describing, not of explaining or analyzing (ix), this study seeks to represent the essence or

facticity of various sewer systems by describing the experience of them. Sheree Dukes points

ut tt t pic td is t td i usu dpt t t,

but a perspective on what constitutes knowledge in the human sciences (202). It does not have

t usu pups pcdu tt is usu sscitd it td, d bcs

-i sttic. Tu ptctd ctpti t p s it uds its t

the perceiver, phenomenological description seeks to understand, rather than to explain (198),

striving to discover the meaning of an experience (199). It asserts that there is a logic to humanxpic, tt bscu d it s; husss ccpt eidos ctds

tt t is i tt udis t squc tuts d tis td b

encounter with a phenomenon (199).

Pic dscipti ds t b distiuisd uttic iti d t

csu pstti. atu p is t udstd s sti tt is


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already there before one begins to reect upon its presence (Merleau-Ponty vii), representation

of the experience entails a process of reection that blurs Merleau-Pontys distinction

between analysis and explanation (ix). Analysis is implicit in the way one goes about writing a

phenomenological description since it is a reected reconstruction of the primary encounter.

To write a phenomenological description of sewerage is to therefore embed analytical reection

iti subjctiv pcpti.

Ps ppciti subjctiv pcpti is t cctistic tt

ks it cduciv t t is tis stud. T dsi ss ds t tk it ccut

subjctiv pcpti, sic t tt ss usd d itid is dpdt up

ss pcivd. mu-Pt pits ut t vidit subjctiv pcpti:

[a]ll my knowledge of the world, even my scientic knowledge, is gained from my own particular

pit vi, xpic t d itut ic t sbs scic ud b

meaningless (ix). Even though fact is often extolled as objective, every fact originates from

pcpti it, pcpti tt is ivitb subjctiv. I ti, p is

more honest in bringing to the fore the subjectivity of any description or analysis. That doest, v, tt p pts utsid t subjct-bjct pit. as

Latour points out, although phenomenologists no longer attribute any essence either to pure

subjects or to pure objects, they are beholden to tracing a line between poles that are thus given

the greatest importance (58). Phenomenology self-consciously occupies an in-between space

that avoids subscribing to purity of the subject or object, and ironically afrms the subject-object

pit b ctiu bsssi v it.


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Phenomenologys playing eld is a tense one that constantly attempts to validate both

subject and object. Rather than disparaging material fact, phenomenology is deeply invested

i ti it d is uii t sip cit iti, but dvus t it

it i tstiv . Tki ti psc s stti pit, ps

work is in transmuting fact into meaningful experience. In doing so, the energy invested

it stbisi t iiti cut it t p t bcs ivisib: t

pcss ccui iti is vidt t s distd t iti

d tud it it pcpti. Bcus t is itt tc t t pcss, p

is t cstitd bi uudd, ciu, d t vd tu sc. w

v bc usd t pcivi d vui k tu t s qutit iti

tt is ccud d pducd, s ps k is i xtcti sps

iti, it t iiti iti ttis ccutd.

muc t disct suudi p is du t its jcti bjctiv

citi s t s s vuti. I vui t subjctiv, pic dscipti

ss t b sipsistic pcss it pssibiit judt, d xt vc.hv, suc udstdi sts t ssuptis: tt subjctivit is sus

it itspcti d itd tt is xt, d tt t sis is t

dscib tut tt is ppicb t v sci.

fist, p ds t disp xt cs, but qustis ti cus

tisip t p b tic psitii p s idpdt

pscic, sci, pitic cic cicustcs. Tt ds t tt t t is

tisip t pscic, sci, pitic cic titis, but tt t tisip

is focalized through the phenomenon; the phenomenons existence does not stem from [its]


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antecedents, from [its] physical and social environment; instead it moves out towards them

and sustains them (Merleau-Ponty ix). Rather than restricting itself to the phenomenon and

disissi t ps tisip it xt titis, p tks up t

pspctiv t p i d t c ut t xtitis. P is td

i, but t iitd t, t ps ti psc.

Scd, t pic dscipti is t t dscib tut tt is

ppicb t v d vti, but t diiiz p t d, t v

the world as strange and paradoxical (xv), and to compel awareness in the reader of the multiple

itis tt sid i p. It is t iv t pjudd d t huss

calls the historical sediment of historical traditions and rituals (Flannery 28), and to allow

t d t k t it . I d t tis diiizti, t pic

td ps its up t iitiv pssibiitis tu ct piic suspsi.

husss td epochenables the imagination to suspend preconceived and taken-for-

granted realities, so as to question them as being able not to be (Depraz 156). It is through this

bracketing that one can reach the intuited essence of a phenomenon.mi, t cstituts t pi pic cut ds t b

ddssd i it dpdc up t pstti ss t t dict

cut it v t s ssts s. Cstucti cut it c

sewerage system through varying combinations of drawings, photographs, eld visits and texts,

tis p s s Bcd i ssti t vidit pstti

s pi pic cut. Bcds pic stud ptic spc


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argues that readers ought not to consider poetry as the substitute for an object, but to seize its

specic reality (xv). Spatial images created through poetry enact an experience for the reader

tt is just s d vid s cut it psic spc. likis, t cut it

t ss tt is ctd tu visu d txtu pstti is s xpic

t ss s psic . mv, t pic dscipti is t xpss

subjective perception and raise awareness of the cognitive lters that intervene even in direct,

psic cuts it p, t t cus t cstituts t p tt is

pcivd.

I cstucti c xpic, tp csistc is stis bk. T

cs t t d tt t rs, hpps, d Pisis xpicd, ic i tu

c pcpti t ss. T pst bcs bsis t ti pst

pi cut, d sic it ss bit udicus t t civiiztis tt c

xist i t pst ts, t ccsi pst ts is usd. I t cs lts ss,

t iid pst t p tcs ctu bi usd t cduct u st, is

tk t b t pi cut.mv, t cuts stictd t t i s tuks c sst tt is

dscibd. nt v pip i t r ss is t siz t Cc mxi, d t d

dstic pips tt v b ddd t rs sst t icudd i t dscipti.

T i ts dsciptis is t cpsivss. T t t sv s pits

discv d s tiki t t udud c b udstd, t t

cpt dcuttis c sst.

fi, t t is: t t t cpt t txt t t

substitute for descriptions or provide a point for verifying the descriptions. If anything, they

uis dditi ti t d t pcptu spd t.


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The lITerary lanDSCaPe of Sewerage

ec t u ssts ttd i tis stud suudd b xisti ittu

tt tds t xpi t s i t cus dtid. Tci scipitic tks,

i istic d cic dtis, xpii tcic ucti, st xisti

txts td t justi t xisti stt ss t t p t up ivti.

mv, xisti ittu tds t i t pcptu quitis ss, usi t ss

s vidc t cstuct ut but xt titis suc s scit, s ks,

political gures.

S scsip cd its d it t Pisi ss. nt t

Pisi ss d icic vi vis d ptps its subi iti suc s

nds The Sewers, t t t ct pitic d tt sut t suppss

dissts. as suc, t ss ppb pt t cit, psc tt pisd scp

from the State and also threatened to reveal the States darkest secrets (Reid). In examining the

sewerss sociopolitical signicance, much of the literature forays into the sewerss perceptualeffects, which were what gave the sewers their political power in the rst place. However, these

discussis pcptu ct i td i ist: it is t t pcptis iiti

t ss tt usu discussd, but piticis, its, d t ppuc v

istic pcivd d pstd t ss. f xp, Dd ridsParis Sewers

fix nd. The Sewers (1864-1865)Reproduced from Matthew Gandy, The Paris Sewers and the Rationalization of Urban Space.


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Tam 16

and Sewermen dcuts t scipitic vts tt suudd t cstucti t

ss, d i s di dscibs t vvi istic pcpti t ss. St it

dates, sewer lengths, and historical gures, Reids voice is that of a distant observer intent

up si t ss t sut scipitic vts d cic

circumstances. Similarly, Matthew Gandys The Paris Sewers and the Rationalization of Urban

Spc tks up t psiti tp d cutu vd bsv uss t

ss t dstt t t t u bd id pi idis t

pid. T ss bt rid d gd spts pticu istic cicustc

tt t itstd i pvi. T ss tsvs s pvi ti

spctiv tss but Pisi scit, d t t utit subjcts stud.

I cutpit t ts istic ccuts, as JjsBasses Oeuvres bis t

d it t ss tu t bd t mtpi s ks. h tpic

stud dscibs cut it t ss s cizd tu t ks d ti di

ivs. S dscibs t t ss , s, d k, v, t ss p

icidt pt i tiv. as sci tpist, cus is t idividu ivs t s ks: s dsciptis sv t cstuct t xpic t ks

d ist pt ti cditis. Ctuis i, axd-J-Bptist Pt-

Ductt sii t vivid dscipti Piss aci ri ss t t pubic

sympathy for sewer workers. Although somewhat inated in his portrayal of sewer workerss

itic d s cct, Pt-Ductt dscibs t ss, tptu, d

t csistc d ppc s it t ctu t ivstitiv pt.


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Vict hus ccuts t Pis ss pt ti dit ist.

His well-known poem Lhistoire a pour gouts des temps comme les ntres (Les chtiments)

only mentions gouts in the rst line, but has come to associate his work on the sewers with

pitic citiqu t Scd epi. atu t p is t pic ccut

t ss, hu ds us t ss t icit pticu pcptu cti is ds,

cpti t sss ius ti psc t k pitic pit.

It is i Les Misrables (V: Jean Valjean) that Hugo does his phenomenological work

t ss. J Vj bcs st i t ss, ivi hu t pptuit t tk

t d tu t sst, ic dpts vius ti d spti cctistics

i cspdc t bvud buidis. hv, is st tb pic

work on sewers is not about the Parisian system, but the Roman one. Lgout de Rome (Les

chtiments) evokes the visceral experience of climbing down into the sewers and walking

tu t, vivid dscibi t suds, ss, d txtus t spc.

asid hus p, studis t r ss cic,

ttpti t cct discvd s sts t cit txts d sti ut icpts t ss buit . Ts asb, h. Bu, mi Bk, d C. mccii

Cp stict tsvs t dcuti t sss tis d suts itut

remarking upon any spatial or perceptual effects. John Hopkinss The Cloaca Maxima and

t mut miputi wt i acic r is xcpti t ts pu

cic ccuts, vtui t d scipitic ccusis but t pctic d

sbic ucti t ss.


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T 18

likis, t hpp ss t lt v b p t cic ttt,

it dqut dcutti t sst but itt t it its pcptu cts.

Sic itt is k but t hpp civiizti, scipitic ccusis sps, d

st t scsip iits its ccusis t t but t supisi spisticti t

drainage system (Jansen, Leshnik, Mate, Shaikh).

wi spisticti is vd t i t cs t hpps, ctp s

ittu is itt up sipii ssts. Sic t id-1970s, ctit s

is cpid t d -cst sitti, ui tt ss buit i t

empirical domination are no longer appropriate for modern urban needs (Bakalian 1). Since

citis i st dvpd cutis v b sd, s is v bu t

iz tt ti cit is i t gb Sut, t xpss tditi s

itc d cstucti ct b td. as sut, s ittu s bc

littered with the language of efciency and low-cost technology in the service of the urban poor.

hv, i psizi uctiit d its ttdt sci, cutu d cic icitis,

the supervenience qualities of sewers are often ignored. The perceptual effect of sewers ont ub p t tk it ccut, v tu pcpti ppts bviu d is

t cuci t t sss ctu ipct t -bi cuitis.


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T 19

reVerSIng SCaTalogICal TraVeSTy

Describing the scatological acts of political gures has long been a rhetorical weapon

i t ds stiists t iks fis rbis, Jt Sit d axd Pp.

asscitd it bstiit, vubiit d uiss, sct is di dpd i tvst

t dbst sius subjct b psti it s idicuus. as cduits sct,

s is subjct t t sti tvst, suti i its ti psc bi pssd s

ivit p t bi ud t t t tk sius. It is bcus sss ti

psc is pcivd s ctptib tt s ittu cuss t cts

suudi ss t t i dict it t xpic t ss tsvs.

It is this thesiss contention that the subjective and superuous qualities of sewers

dsv sius ttti bcus t k t t utu s dvpt, d

istut t t tt ss stuctu xt spcs d bjcts. I csi t

ppc s tu t pic td, tis tsis dvus t vs

sctic tvst b vti t pcpti ss t psiti pic s t isubjct itti.

T ipct s is t t d t-tt cis d ducd

disbiit-djustd i s, but t d pcptu ct. ev i ss cssit

for the city, they contain superuous qualities that are open to subjective decision-making.

Suc dcisis d t b iv t s citic ttti tt is bstd up t pts


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T 20

of the built environment, especially since constructed sewers are not easily modiable. Once

ss istd, t ckd i b d tks d bc idispsb t sidts.

Bsts cut pjct t spit Dcst, St Bk d Sut Bsts cbid ss

it spt st t d s ssts i ivv xtsiv d suci d

infringement of private property (Boston Water and Sewer Commission). It is an example of the

pis citis ust tu i ctii s dcisis tt d itut csidi

ti csqucs utip pspctivs. T s pjcts cut ud

i citis, usd sus d pid ubizi cit pipis, d t

pptuitis ivti d css-sct iput.


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groTeSQUe foreIgnneSS In The roman CloaCae

Pit bi4 bcks siutus d p d std s stis t rs

underground, breaking the smooth surface of the retaining wall that denes the banks of the

Tiber. The blocks bring the entrails of the underground briey to the surface, their crude texture

ci t st subt d tt is t uquid, us, d uk.

T ut pc i t suit, xpsd t s, ik itud ccidt

stubd utsid is v. at t s ti, t b t k cscius spctc i

ti ui siz d itti stcki. T c tk i ti cstucti qustis ti

s ic t t idd t udud.

T bcks d rs ist itsti: t Cc mxi, -bd

born of the polis and of nature untamed. Dating from ca. 450 B.C.E. (Hopkins), the cloacae5

tsqu uctizb. T d i pcptu ib, suspdi t pcss

cpsi:

T itv t tsqu is t i ic, tu v

cizd ub dit s i t bjct, v t

yet developed a clear sense of the dominant principle that denes

it and organizes its various elements [] Resisting closure, the

tsqu bjct ips us t pst t, pti t

past and forestalling the future (Harpham 16)

4 as cd cb st, pit bi is sid t b d, pus vcic ck tt s usd b tcits ists. It is but gbii, tv is r (The Edinburgh Journal of Science 9:35-36)5 The term cloacae is used to refer to Romes sewers in general in this section. It is distinguished from theCc mxi, ic is cpitizd d s d t b its u .

Phemenology of Sewerage


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T 22

T cc sts t v vi picip d izti ic, v sippi

between systems like an illegal fugitive that refuses State identication. As grotesque entities,

t d t utt jct t d t pis, but std iti it i usi t u

ssiit t it.

o t d, t cc s t sii ti ic t t cit i ti psic

appearance. They have material afnity to Romes monuments of civic culture, which stand

up t s kid cppcci6 bcks tt kp t t t b i t cc (hpkis

9). The Regia, one of the most important religious buildings of its time, structurally fuses into

t Cc mxi, psic icpti it it t itus tt ditd civic i i t

Forum Romanum. Their close afliation is borne out in written accounts by Varo and Festus

tt dscib t ri t i ti t t buidis, but i ti t t Cc mxi

(Brown 59). The Cloaca Maxima becomes the context for understanding the Regia, as if the

ss pstti t civic i tt t ri ptks i. nt t cc

ittd it civic uts, t icptd it rs cit pt d ds

walls (Mocchegiani Carpano 168), plugging into the citys token commercial and politicalstuctus. T tid it t vd ctivitis t pis, siii civic i v

st t iius buidis.

The construction methods deployed in the construction of the cloacae afrm their civic

sttus. wi t ts t s pid cstuctd c d v-id

6 Grey, granular volcanic rock that was fairly accessible to the Romans, and often quarried locally as largeblocks. It was easy to work with, but not particularly strong (Anderson 141).


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T 23

troughs that mark their servility to the polis (Hopkins 11), the cloacaes expensive masonry is

csistt it t du d spisticti bvud i. B t t s ti s

t Cpiti Tp d t ri, t ss s it ts stuctus t s t-sixt-

ctu tciqu uti bck t bck up t it pcisi t t t

(9). The sheer size of the cappellaccio blocks, which measure up to 73 by 43 by 31 cm (Blake 123),

bis t pistki bu ivvd i t cstucti t cc. accdi t pts

b liv, Pi d Cssius hi, bus ttptd t scp d v cittd

suicide to avoid the work (Hopkins 11). In addition to the signicant resources that are invested

i ti cstucti, ti d t is xpdd i civi ivtiv dsi: t ss

possess the earliest voussoir arch in all of Rome (Blake 123). They are the apogee of Roman

iuit d t, ii t cits vus.

hv, t ccs pssd ucti udis ti civic is. Ti bicks

vdssd xistt udic, d ti xpsiv cstucti d ivti

std up t ticki st c tt tt ibits t. rvd t ctxt

bvud r, t u ti bt cstucti bcs ssic. Ubdisplay is foreign to the subterranean world, and for all their pretentions of civic afnity, the

cc t tt pt t cit.

Udtd b its udud cti, t ccs cstucti subscibs t t

piss vizti sids v vids. T ss pducd tu t iputi

sid tis t t cvi ut vid: spc t pss s is bpduct


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T 24

t ctd b s s istd bi dict d ut t sid

ud. T us sids t sp is bvud ic divd t pctic d

stuctus t b stdi. I t udud, vids tk pcdc sic is

dicttd b stuctu ccs, d spcs bc t dict bjct cstucti i t

pcss i ut t. T r cc i t t ic t udud:

ti s s ipt t t t stdi sttus bjcts, dss t t tt

suuds t. T pp ik bvud stuctus tt uitti pcd b

ud, s i pt t pis sippd bt t suc.

Idd, t ss i pts t pis, cs sbi bvud cicuti

spcs. T disid i sps t cit stts, t stdd idt r

highway measuring three to four and a half meters (Blake 129) in comparison to the Augustan

portion of the Cloaca Maxima, which measures a little over three meters in width (159). The

disis t ss v t d it xtdi cit vt b ud t it

accommodating the citys sewage load. Oversized for the efuents they purportedly serve, most

t ccs vutic spc is pptu uccupid d tb ds pptuit u cicuti. Idd, it is u subt viti: Pi t ed ts

of how Agrippa was able to take a boat through the sewers (Mocchegiani Carpano 167). He also

dscibs t cc s subt tsptti pjct:

[] e inoltre le cloache, lopera pi colossale che dir si possa, in

qut u pti i ti, , c bbi dtt pc

sp p Tb, citt divut psi pt ss vit

sottosuolo (qtd. in Mocchegiani Carpano 165)7

7 [...] and also the sewers, the most colossal work said to be possible bcause they were drilled into theutis, d, ik s v just sid bv di Tbs, t cit bc vib i tudud


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T 25

Pi ss t pciv t udud s s vi b pt t cit, d t cc

as simply a means of accessing this hitherto unreachable realm. His assertion that la citt

divenuta pensile pot essere navigata nel sottosuolo (165) suggests that construction of the

sewers did not co-opt a new realm, but were modications made in the existing city.

ad t, t cc d t tt b t t pis. as pst-sttt istis

tt bid t cits dvpt, t cc xcudd t piss ptt

t. T d t cspd t rs ub ic, cstituti ti ttiv ub

order of unfullled and outmoded aboveground intentions. An apt example is the segment of

t Cc mxi tt is bt t bsiic aii t fuvi, ic spks t i

ub d tt c b picd tt b xcvtd ts stuctus. T cc is

itd t t cit d buit ut tu sbs tt s ik pt t Sc

Vi s it xistd dui t pid t r rpubic. It bs t bst ub ic

tt dictts t itti t t cc but t rpubic Cui, t Citiu, t

rst, t d t Cc, t ri, t tp t Vst, t d atiu Vst, d

the front of the Juturna shrine (Ashby 138). While the Sacra Via changed its route over time, insps t ic t stuctus t rpubic Cui distd d dispcd

(Richardson 339), the cloaca persists in maintaining the Republican urban logic. It lives in a past

tt xists utsid its, ik p utd b t its st pts.

T ss ccup tp spc spt tt t cit d psss t dit

pc.


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Tam 26

Ti is t i du i t cc, but ptck ituptis d

juxtpsitis. T bickk ds ik ic stt, isti dit istic pids,

but i cic . rptis disupt tp stt: t Ipi

d r , acic, id-rpubic, Jui, auust, fvi, d Ditiic

masonries are juxtaposed (Hopkins 2).

While all structures register the passage of time to some degree, what is signicant about

t puit tpitis is ti juxtpsiti udis v istic bicki

tciqu. n dditis d ptis ist tsvs itut d cpti

t xtt cstucti ic. Cubd cppcci bcks t t pid vd

b sttu ti is id s tt d d cstucti ics itupt c

other. For new brickwork to ll in voids left by the old cappellaccio blocks, new bricks must be

stckd iu t c t t d ds t issi cppcci, udii

t ic u stcki tt is bddd it t disis t bicks. at t s

ti, t ic tss uti bdid i t ssiv siz t cppcci bcks is

disuptd b t itusi t bick uit it its ttdt ic td cstucti.T cppcci bcks d bicks itupt d di c ts ic cstucti,

di c s tciqu dsucti.

nt d t cits cstucti tciqus dvv t dsucti i t cc, t

cit t cits ub d is ducd t cusi d dudc. excss s ptus

d stutd is tt t s t cits ci ds c Bktis tsqu

apertures, the convexities, [] and offshoots (26). The oldest portion of the Cloaca Maxima is

Bicks d bcks iti i t cc Ciss.Suc: Stti di r: ct icc sp cic


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T 27

ituptd b cc tt spds t t bsiic aii t fuvis itti (asb

138). Later, a third more devious (138) cloaca responding to the restoration and rechristening

of the basilica (Platner 72) rendered the two previous cloacae redundant. Many sealed sewer

shafts languish in disuse (Hopkins 2), attesting to the cloacaes non-compliance with the polis.

Siutus pt d pt t cit, t cc rs tsqu

dub, psit bic ittis tt cbt pptu icpti t

urban order. They are deant foreigners that reside within the city but do not obey all its rules,

id tt t pis is but tuus cstuct. T d stt iti b

turning that which is ordinary, commonplace, belonging to everyday life, and recognized by all

(Bakhtin 39) into something meaningless, dubious and hostile (39). Bakhtin associates this

terrifying world, alien to man (39) with the Romantic grotesque. The cloacae are strangers

t d t b t sst but isidius ps s pt v sst d

udi c sst iti. atu t ti ctiuus it civic

buidis, t cstitut ub d spt tt t cit d dsucti

d dudc. T t tt pt t cit, but t tt pt it it.T bki pit ub d, ituds i us bic, spcs

civility can no longer hold, the cloacae are, in Badious terms, symptomal torsion: points of

systemic failure that reveal the artice of the city (iek 131). It is by participating in the polis

tt t cc b t subvt t vus t pis. Ti dc t t piss sst

civic vus s t t pvk sstic iu iti tt ividts t


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T 28

poliss habitual values. The cloacae make the monumental trappings of the polis meaningless,

dubious and hostile (Bakhtin 39) by extending them to the underground.

hv, t ccs cstt psc pts i tt is dit Bdius

symptomal torsion. Whereas symptomal torsion is a one-off malfunctioning that has the

p t dstbiiz t ti sst, t cc iti psistt d pvsiv psc

tt udis t cit. aist Bdius ccpti subvti pii, stbisd

sst, Kistv psits t xistc subvti c t t v bit sst t

i. S pits ut tt is ivitb t t cit, tt t civic sst ct

xist itut cutpiti c. T i d t citiz utu dpdt,

each being dened through the exclusion of the other. Foreigners are therefore inevitable to the

city: le problme des trangers dcoule dune logique classique, celle du groupe politique et

de son apoge, ltat-nation. Logique qui [] reconnat quelle repose sur certaines exclusions

(Kistvtrangers 143)8. as is t t cit, t ccs psc is udt t t

xistc t pis.

r civiizti ct xist itut t cc: t v ccpt r is tdin the presence of the sewers. Students were taught that the Cloaca Maxima signies civilization

i ist us d lti csss:

8 the problem of foreigners derives from a classical logic, that of a political group and its culmination, theNation-state. A logic that [...] recognizes it depends upon certain exclusions


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T 29

Cloaca Maxima: c ps qu d vi, jusqus t

cpis ds pus isipid ds us disti u ds

sit pus ti du ti ds cs c

signicant mme de la civilisation, lexemple quon donne avant

tus, vt cit t tps qu quduc, du

ut d d civiisti uqu tit pvus s ris

[original italics] (Laporte 23)9

lpts cpis t Cc mxi it ct pits t t ti iptc

t ss. T ssciti r civiizti it t Cc mxi is t

sbic, but ti. T ss ti ct i spc ist ic t cit c

dene itself conceptually. By creating a space for civic exclusion, the sewers allow the city to

bc spc civic icusi.

T cc d t pst rs i d civiizti, but pvid i

it, i rs i d civiizti t b pcivd. T cc c d

be taken as a display of Romes aesthetic renement, nor did they provide the Romans withdqut sitti. Buit it t stss d ipcisi cppcci, t cc pp

tsqu ucut xt t t t scuptus tt d dui t s pid,

9 Cloaca Maxima: it s t id t ci, up t d icudi t st isipid ist us i tteachings of the most elementary of Latin classes, to be the signier of civilization itself, the example we give

before all else, before cement and alongside the aquaducts, of the high degree of civilization that wascd b t rs


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T 30

d ax Scbi pits ut tt t bud vi, u dus, d cbustib ss,

psi s t zd t it t rs. T cc t ps

r tst sitti. wt ks t iptt t r civiizti is t ti

cit t civic xpcttis, but ti iss t t.

T cic cppcci s t dit cstucti ti ks tt

tic uit it i iu ti i ctdicti ittis tt tts

the fulllment of both. Hovering between the crudeness of raw nature and the exigencies of

u tiit, cppcci bcks tsqu i t bt tu d u ct.

atu t rs ips tic ic up t ti, cutti it it u bcks

it u pcisi tss ssb, t ti its ppss tic puit.

Bck ds ivitb pp uzz d ipcis bcus cppccis cs, pus

txtu, isi its tus cpsiti bck v, ist, it icus

ucit, b ic, bck d is uit, d sp. Cppcci is s suscptib t

dcpsiti b i, its dissuti v ti ddi t its pus quit (The Edinburgh

Journal of Science 9: 35-36).Cppcci psssss bic but, ic sids v i t t

potential because of its aesthetically unnished state. In Uvedale Prices On the Picturesque,

roughness is conceived of as the fringe of beauty, that which gives it life and spirit, and

preserves it from baldness and insipidity (qtd. in Harpham 33). Roughness keeps one in

anticipation of beauty by suspending the process of beautication. Cappellaccios quality of


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T 31

ict but is tsqu bt ccptc t tis tu stt d t

tpic dd c d c.

Cppcci bcks siutus sii ctiuit it d iss t t

ccs subt ctxt. Quid t udud, cppcci bcks

natural material for subterranean construction. However, they bear the traces of human

itvti up ti isti udud, bi subdividd it bcks tt

thoroughly unnatural. Pliny the Elder tells of how Tarquinio Prisco, the builder of the rst

cc, ud tk sc t t cstucti sit t su tt t it ut cppcci

was being used (Bauer 165). Unitized, quantied, weighed, distributed, and assembled,

t cppcci bcks ipitd it u ic dspit t tu ic ti

subt pct. T d t u b t it tpic tu ds,

cti subt spc tt is pcptu ustb.

In positing the underground as constructed and therefore recongurable, the cloacae

c it qusti tsti stbiit: t v uds up ic r stds si-

tpic stuctus p t t cis u judt d t vicissituds u pitics. rt t iv cditi divi ii, t udud is disttd

dub t bvud d, itcut t ic t cit. atu t

i diu it bvud stuctus, t cc t u civiizd spcs. T ck

t ti it rs pubic spcs, t tic pcisi d pis u


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T 32

ct. T tsti tu is icpt, btd id- tu t pcss

anthropogenic beautication.

The space of the cloacae is a terrifying world, alien to man (Bakhtin 38) and alien to

tu. It is st t ssts, sistt t t ic t bvud d t tt

the subterranean. Its deant non-conformity makes it threatening because it is an intentional

udii t dict bt us d t ot, c t t v ti pc

it its ipictis buddss d cizti. Dstvsk dscibs suc sistc t

classication as underground, a kind of ideological refusal of comprehensive knowledge and

ctit. T cc t tppic udud, but ti v psc distubs

perceptual classication in a way that is underground.

Dostoevskys underground is a valorization of the foreign. His Underground Man is

bstd bsvs scit, is siutus victi buis vus i

si t t, d pticipt i cti sci itus i xcudd ts. rt

t ccpti dt, t Udud m dcs is iss dsib stt:

S, iv t udud! atu I v sid tt Iv t it t cu ic I cpb,

I udt c t b i, i t situti i ic I s i

(tu I st stp vi i t s. n, , i

event the underground is more advantageous!) (Dostoevsky 34)


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T 33

In establishing his own system that is autonomous from extant classications, the Underground

m cstucts k iti ic is t t t btt t d ci, but tp:

A novel needs a hero but here Ive deliberately td tt t tus ti-

hero [original emphasis] (117). By selecting his own criteria for self-judgment, the Underground

m ds is it t p s-dtiti. h sts t i s

is i ct is idtit, t pi s t stp sci disppv, but

cscius ctd ti-.

T cc d t st bi civic spcs utis tu, but

dibt bscd ts ssts d ti xpcttis. lik Dstvsks Udud

m, t stbis ti ts judt spt xtt ssts, ts tt pc

t i psiti p. T uptic i ti ict stus tds t u

d t -u, ti idb disis ci t csid t s itit spcs

t t tt tvs. Vi ppxit t t u ts i it

(Richardson), the cloacae have a grandeur that dees marginalization. Theirs is a grandeur that

is cpi t bcus ti u but bcus ti stss, ic ds tmythic authority. Because they lie outside of any clearly identiable human intention, the sewers

cqui supu vits tt t ccpis istcs t tsqu. hp

ssts tt t grottesche designs of or pertaining to underground caves (27) originates

in primitive or mythological cultures that had no concept of meaningless design (50). In

t bsc u xpti tsqu p, scibs t t tic

i.


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T 34

rs ss psidd v b Vus Cci s vtiv si ks t

beginning of the cloaca near the original basilica Aemilia et Fulvia (Ashby 138, Bauer 289).

Bourke claims that she was Romes rst god, supposedly named by Romulus himself (127). The

cc v u scdss, piv quit tt pcds d is bivius t u

pups. a sci ic is distd i t ss, v is stippd d t

their essence: esh and blood, susceptible to death and decay. Victor Hugos poetic description of

Lgout de Rome evokes the impartial and omniscient gaze of the sewers:

et r tut ti vc tut s pss,

jus, suvi, scv, cii,

dans ce marais sans fond croupit, fange ternelle (603)10

The sewers proclaim their judgment upon human life with no discrimination between des

chiens crevs ou des csars pourris (604)11. accuuti t ipuitis t pi, t

v t p t xps rs dkst scts bcus ti v t cit.

hv, ipicit i ti psiti ut is vubiit sti isti d

bdt.abs bti sc is pt dscipti t pdx it i

t ccs scdss. rci Kistvs udstdi t i s css t

10 And Rome as a whole with all of its past,Ju, svi, sv, cii,I tis bttss tti sp, t ud

11 dead dogs or rotten caesars


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T 35

the foundation of the polis, Agamben posits the sovereign as the pre-order to order (16), the

element that traces the threshold to what is inside and what is outside of juridical order (19). As

svis sb t but tsvs, t ccs tic p is t t xps

bi ptctd b tpic d. T cstitut z xcpti, pc is

free to do what one will but at the cost of ones value supra bare life. Hugos Lgout de Rome

describes the sewer space as a realm where all are valued equally for their bare lives, stripped

of sympathy and pre-established meaning. [D]es chiens crevs and des csars pourris (604)

are indistinguishable in the sewers, turned into a heap of material, ce tas monstrueux (604)12.

I t ss, vti is ducd t ti psc, d t eizbt Pvii

calls the genealogical contraptions that allot meaning to everything13. I t scd spc t

cc, cts c b cittd, s csu is suspdd d t vidts v t

most socially objectionable rituals: Bourkes scatological ethnography concludes that disgusting

rites are distinctively religious in origin (2).

mt itits utus is: Pviis xiti dutd spcs

concludes that [m]any counterpublics practice forms of spirituality that are a panoply ofreligious, cultural, and social traditions (164). The cloacae establish their otherness through

spcs s dsucti ibus t it stius ipt. S pits t t d t

12 this monstrous pile13 Povinelli denes genealogical as discourses, practices, and fantasies about social constraints placed on the

autological subject by various kinds of inheritances (4).

Tibut s spitti t i i.Suc: Stv Duc, Undercity.org: Guerilla History and Urban Exploration


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Tam 36

earliest cloaca gesture towards subterranean votive practices (Ashby 138), and the irregularity

t Cc mxis cus vs i cstt stt disitti, stubi

ds up it t t kd t is d. T spc t cc is utt

csd, pitti ipss xt idicts t k s pss i ti t t

cit , tt tt, t t st t sst. T v tu t cc is t cit t

ju uctit d icpt ppsi. T Cc mxi spits it utip

tributary sewers under the steps of the Basilica Julia (Blake 160), so that selecting the wrong

ut cud si d t dd d. T z tisti d tui tus dis u

cpsi t s sstss xtts. T is psiti pivi vib,

pit iscic c bti visu st v t sst. o ust subit t

td xpic its spcs, suspd s ti xpcttis spcs ut t

ow, and surrender oneself to darkness, both metaphorically and literally.

o is i i t r ss. mdit itud, uiititd t t ccs

pticu ic ctti d dudc, is pptu visit t t ss, v

sidt. T cc cp biit, i ics sti s tt is stvi tu t it t stssss i xi. It is t t t i t

search for a home that is out of reach, un ailleurs toujours repouss, inassouvi, inaccessible

(Kistvtrangers 15)14. Tsvs i xi bt t t u d t

tu, t cc pduc ti stt iti i ts t t.

14 towards an elsewhere that is always pushed away, unfullled, inaccessible


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The haraPPan Sewer CarnIVal

ebddd it cpis i t Idus V15, bick-id tcs cd c

sct t hpp16 sttt t lt17 (Leshnik 914). The trenches cut through retaining

s d div b ud bt c tppic ti t sttt, uidi s

ud d dds sct t sct. T kit tt t sttt, uiti tt

sidts tu ti di id cctiv i d cctiv bdis. T t

buit stuctus tt d lt cc, s tcs i pts iki tt t

scts.

nt t ss sd tuut t sttt, ti ctts v uii

psc t bdi ctibutis t sidts s visib s t cduits, d

pt t tk tt bids tt lts scts. T tk is ppu stuctu i

its udisciiti svic t t pp, s s ppu i t psic ss bi

cpsd t pp. T sst is it buit ut t pps xctis.

T s-s ct is t pstti t hppsscctiv i, but psic pduct t cuit. ec usds c tt

intermingles with that of others, yielding an anonymous stercoral stream that reies Bakhtins

concept of bodily processes as having a cosmic and at the same time all-peoples character

(19); Bakhtins idea of a communal body is given physical realization. While Bakhtin admits

15 ntst i t Idi subctit tt is ctd pii i t Idus riv bsi. T stdds d-d Idi d Pkist.16 The Harappans were an Indus Valley Civilization that existed around 2500 to 2000 B.C.E. (Rissman 209).T ist ub civiizti Sut asi, t is itt iti d uc ctvs suudi tiethnicity, religion, language, and sociopolitical structure.(Clark 235-236).

17 lt is hpp sttt i st Idi, but 50 is sutst adbd.


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T 38

that his cosmic body is not the body and its physiology in the modern sense of these words

(19), Lothals faecal streams produce a communal body that is thoroughly physiological. Sewage

subsus idividu xctis, usi t it uivs substc tt ds t sip

represent[ ] all the people [my emphasis] (19) but is psic ti t pps

bodies. Faeces are, after all, mostly composed of dead bacteria and cells (Sabbath 20) that are the

v k-up t u bd. as suc, t t idx t pps bdis,

but t pps ctu bd pts.

fcs ud tsti i t pcss bi disbd d jctd

bdis, dpti t t idividu t t t t csic. T csic

dts t tu ts tt t it diu it t u bd:

w ust stss tt it s i t ti cts d

iitis t bd ti, diki, dcti, sxu i

tt ud d tcd iti is t t, s, i,

re, and all the cosmic matter and its manifestations, and was thus

able to assimilate them (Bakhtin 336)oc dtcd idividu bdis, cs t tu ccs bd t i d dt

us, ccti t u bd t t t. I ti ptistic i it tu,

they adopt a character of immortality and indestructibility (Bakhtin 256), their decay feeding

it pcss ti. Itid it s ctpti lts p ss is

s citi ti tsti ts d ti cudit.


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T 39

T ti t csic bd tssss t bud bt t ot d

t idividu s, cti bjct cditi tt puss t iits s pcpti t

it d t xt:

[] labject na rien dobjectif ni mme dobjectal. Il est simplement

u ti, u d pusst qu aut, dvu alter ego,

iss tb pu qu j dispiss ps ui is tuv,

dans cette alination sublime, une existence dchue [original

italics] (KristevaPouvoirs 17)18

T subsupti t s i t csic ot ustts t iiit t s, tb

cti stt iti. fcs bt pt t s d xtizd ot tt

can observe objectively, allowing one to reect upon oneself with the detachment of an external

tit. Tis dtcd ctpti is ccpid b is , disust d pusi,

ic Kistv dscibs s sut t i-bt stt t bjct. I ppdi

the repulsiveness of Lothals sewerage-sewage system, one nds oneself contemplating the

repulsiveness of the self out of which the system is built: le sujet trouve limpossible en lui-: squi tuv qu ipssib, cst s tre , dcuvt qui estut

quabject [original emphases] (KristevaPouvoirs 12)19. ozi it biuit, t sst

18 [...] the abject is not objective or even objectal. It is simply a frontier, a repulsive gift that the Other, havingbc alter ego, drops so that I dont disappear in him but nd, in this sublime alienation, a strippedxistc

19 the subject nds the impossible in itself: when it nds that the impossible is its very own being, discvitt it is ti s but bjct


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T 40

betrays the sanctity of the corporeal envelope, pulling out and presenting to oneself the lth that

is iti s bd. o is tud isid-ut, s tis spii it t vit

d subittd t t tic uti t bick tcs. lts ss ik

psttic xtsis ti sidts, dstbiizi subjct-bjct biis i t cti

what Donna Haraway terms a cyborg.

f tis xtiizd iti bd s, stbisi budis

t s d tu, ip ctiu tsssi. Bktis dscipti dcti s

performed on the connes of the body and the outer world, or on the connes of the old and

new body (317) speaks to this transformation of self and environment that is in constant rebirth.

h dscibs t tisip bt subjct d bjct s st budis tt

constantly redrawn because the two remain essentially problematic and contingent (Prins

356). While the perceptual difference between self and object is continually questioned, the two

pssss distict vus tt sist cpt cscc. T i ppsit ds d i

cstt tsi bcus t subjct s ccutbiit tt t bjct is v bd t

(Prins 356). As much as Lothals residents are bodily integrated into their environment, theyust spct t idpdc t vit, ic uss t sip b dt

u i.

S pusts i sps t t cc t hpps ivs d t cc t

sss, usi tt u pcsss d csic ts. S iss t its pk it t

ics sidtss d stt-pduci cic ctivitis s t s ss

T ss t pip lts scts.Suc: S. T


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uss its tts. It dids up t iv t d ss t hpps

cd it t dsips t sccit. T dis t sst psts spctc

of uninterrupted continuity of [the peoples] becoming and growth, of the unnished

metamorphosis of death and renewal (Bakhtin 256), but the systems course is static. The xity

of its course is an assertion of the systems objectness its independence from the human.

Sii, i s is tp tid t t subjct, its cduits i idit

t u iccs, ppi tp d pt. Bkti dscibs t sctic

grotesque as bringing about a mighty awareness of history and of historic change (25) because

its suscptibiit t c v ti. Idd, cs c t c s pst: t

ticts t bds pst, cts bcti tt cstitut t pst s (Sbbt

20). As a consolidation of the past brought into the present, faeces are a temporal register

tt ks t. hv, t tcs sist isttis tp c. f

is directed from one trench to another, the systems efciency and completion revealing no

tcs t. T tcs pp t v b buit t c itut ist

ticipti utu xpsi. T idbtd t sustii us ppctt cs t uit t sttt i pt . ecici c sct, t

ss pvt sct t b cti sttic bud tt is bt ptctiv d cciv.

T ss t ts t c t scts, cti bud tt ust b

dd t ccss t iti. Ti dsiv du ctdicts t vub pcss tt

pducs t: it is i dcti tt iss st xpsd, ic s d cti spcis

Idividu sidts cct t t i ss i u vi.Suc: S. T


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T 42

to adopt defecation positions that allow for quick escape (Lewin 55). The alliance of defecation

it scuit is civsqu pti t bsic istict s-psvti. T

siusss cu st is ducd t uus pi i t sss dpti

attitude where [n]obody cares what may happen to him, while freedom and lack of ceremony

are balanced by good humor (Bakhtin 246). By degrading security, transferring it to the

material level, to the sphere of earth and body in their indissoluble unity (Bakhtin 19-20), the

ss pp t ptistic uit tt ks scuit d its psupti divisi is

cc.

I si divisi, disps ic suspdd i t s sst.

rk d sttus subittd t pti i t pubic pstti c usds

cs. Idividu bts cct t t ss i u vi, bdcsti t itit ct

dcti t v t cud c psiic cpusis sidts. f gt,

such suspension of all hierarchic differences is marked by absolute familiarity (Bakhtin 246),

ssitivit t t c uit sidts tt is b ut i t hppss cu

pstti scicic quit. risss xiti distibuti d disp t i hpp sttts ccuds tt t hpps i cscius t

ppc t d tdd t sk dispitis t psv sbc it.

T ppc it is usd t c cc iti lt, tiit bci

t cus t t t ct sci d.


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T 43

It is t tp, pt quit lts ss tt cs up t t

power of material presence. As xed elements that circumscribe the settlement, the sewers

stuctu t t hpps iv d ibit. I pi tis scuit d divisi,

t stbis uti i it d uit. Ss utiit bis t

ts t c t its d, t sttts sit dpdc di t ss

regulating inuence within Lothal. The civic systematization that the sewers enact has been

likened to American cities (Fitzsimons 13), and archaeologist H. D. Sankalia has remarked upon

the Harappanss unfailing uniformity (qtd. in Fitzsimons 13). To the external visitor, however,

the sewers offer conicted declarations of sophistication and barbarism.

as t ist di ssts i t d, lts ss pst scki

dvcd spci civi ii. attti t dtis suc s tps tt pvt t

solid waste into the sewers (Mulchandi) announces Lothals highly cultivated sensibilities. At

t s ti, titi dcti vi c tt is bsti tctic pd b

animals (Sabbath 50). Bourke associates faeces with the animal, referring to defecation as

mans grosser and more animal propensities (2), while Laporte points out faecess associationwith the wild and savage (17-19). Moreover, the act of defecation entails the abandonment of a

bipeds superior posture: Sabbath notes the anatomical necessity of squatting to gather sufcient

abdominal strength for excretion (11). Humans must momentarily forego their upright position

i d t pticipt i t s sst.


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T 44

T hppss ps it pstus i ti disp ubit cs Jckss

description of the frontiers advancement through a return to primitive conditions (2). It is

in regressing to a rudimentary state that social development (2) occurs. For Jackson, this

return to the primitive signals a perennial rebirth (2) that is echoed in the fertility, growth and

prosperity with which faeces are often associated (Laporte 39). However, whereas Jacksons

v-i ti i du bsbs t piitiv it its civiizd c, lts

s s sttic bud i t piitiv is v svd it t civiizd. T

sewers are not zones of expansion, but petried juxtapositions of wilderness and civilization.

Although Jacksons Frontier thesis identies the paradoxical primitiveness that is

dd t bc civiizd s distict aic p, t ti is b s

pic, cutu tp xcusiv. lik Jckss aic itd, lts

sewers embody the meeting point between savagery and civilization (Jackson 3) while

siutus svi t divid t spc idss t spc civiizti. T

it ti i t ss bi ctstd z idss d civiizti

butt up ist c t; t t itc bt tu d t ist usttts. T hpps cd cditis sii t ts tt Jckss aic pi

cd: t is tu ccui tppic bud, cst, d uti tt

pvidd d i diti u ibitti. I tis ctxt, t ss d

t d tt t ips but v, cvi ut spc us i idit

vit. T pst cpt visi civiizti tt did t dvp v ti but

occurred all at once, having no precedents or former iterations (Jansen 179). Renowned British

archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler describes the Harappans as having the skill to master an

xcti d it vit, d must have it from the outset[] Its victories, like its

problems, must have been of a sudden sort [original emphasis] (qtd. in Fitzsimons 14). The


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T 45

sss cit disps t si-idd i t ips d i t idss. T

csu d cpti t sst us dptti cpis.

lts s bd cts t idss d t visit it c spctc

that declares the settlements contempt for decorum. Ones rst encounter with the settlement

is c: bcs ibictd i t st itit cts t sidts, dd it t

settlements peculiar logic of the inside-out (Bakhtin 11). Faeces make visible all that is buried

deep within the body, laying bare the residentss state of health (Lewin 39, Sabbath 32-33) and

even their emotional state (Sabbath 36). One is unwittingly turned into a voyeur, made culpable

itudi it t ist dpts sidtss bdis d ids.

Dspit t visu spctc, it is t du cs tt dits s cut it

Lothal. Efuents slowly wend their way down the slightly graded trenches, fanned in the open air

ik cs ptd t pt tits. wti tuut t sttt, t du c

dpsiti cupts t vi t dd scts:

l vi s ps is du vu: dv puvi

s pcui du d, ps cqu i i cp,se constituer mme en image diante, signiante de

d. lsspti d vu s ps cpdt ss

la disqualication parallle de lodeur. La primaut du visible

entranant cette consquence quon verra pousse par Kant que ce

qui est beau ne sent pas (Laporte 41)20

20 The city is not to be less displayed: she must be able to be scanned by a glance, not shock the eye or corruptit, v t cstitut s s i - dii, siii d. hv, t ssupti sit dsnot occur without the parallel disqualication of odour. The primacy of vision brings with it the consequence

tt is pd b Kt tt tt ic is butiu ds t s


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Tam 46

os pcpti lt is titd b t dus pvsiv psc, t puti

d cti tt bts v d vti i t sss viciit. Uctib

d ubiquitus, du ptts t bd ik pt. T ssciti icti d

smell recalls how in France, [o]n ne dsinfectera pas autrement que dans laforme d

dsodorisation [original emphasis] (Laporte 70)21. lik diss, u du cts sui

(Laporte 73).

wi c du is udsib bpduct t u bd, cs tsvs

t tt itut us vu. lts tcs ittd it sst cci

pducti, ciitti t disps stt t sidcs but s bd

ct22. Faeces are a commodiable object that enters into both physical and commercial

cicuti, tsd d d vub s it s tu t ss d bis t

dcps. T hpps i cscius t tstiv p pcss:

Clark observes that [m]any materials were intensively manipulated and transformed in the

Indus artifact assemblage (256) despite the inefciencies and incongruities that such a process

tid. T d cti d ssb psssss itu iptc. likis, t cjourney through the sewers has choreographic signicance, the visual relationship between

cs d t sidtss vd ctivitis vi tstiv vu t up t

residents (i.e. creating the cosmic body and the abject), but upon the faeces as well.

21 We do not disinfect in any way other than in theform ddizi22 Lothal produced exceptionally rened beads of agate, precious metals and soap stone, and was particularlyknown for its micro-beads. The bead factory consisted of workers quarters, warehouses, and a courtyard (Mulchandi).


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T 47

I bi cductd tu cis, cs tk dit i d i.

For example, faeces are transformed into a medical specimen and rechristened stool upon

being discharged from a chair with a hole of the same name (Lewin 7). Likewise, Lothals

ss t ut cducts but v ipit up cs, ixi it it idusti

st d icpti it it t cci cc. fcs xpd t sidcs

as undesirable goods, enter into the economic cycle as a valuable resource (manure), and then

re-enter domestic life in the form of agricultural goods (food). The cesspools wherein faeces and

industrial efuents are discharged act as natural ltering devices, allowing liquids to inltrate

t suudi si. T sids dcps it u, svici lts i c

wheat, rice and cotton (Leshnik 912). Faeces become desirable under the label of manure, the

word carrying with it the knowledge that what seems to be waste in one segment of the cycle

in reality has value in another (Sabbath 2). Their time in the sewers is an incubation period

b ti u bit s usu substc. I tis cc vdi tsti, dt

d tiit bc sus s isttis t s substc t dit sts

of its existence. Faeces are transmuted into something that is immune to destruction: ce quist ii d pducti, dct, qu ps, ps st cvti, d t ds

circulation o il apparat, au terme de la transmutation, incorruptible (Laporte 24)23.

23 that which is eliminated in production, waste, does not fail, after it is converted, to return to circulation it pps, t tsutti, icuptib


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T 48

T ss ttut t cc c tsti, pvti idit c

ctct it tsti iss tt spd up t dcpsiti pcss. I si d

t c cc, t ss psiz ptti b di t utu pssibiit: t pis

of fertility lingers in full view, anticipated but unfullled. The procreative capacity of faeces is

fetishized, a perception that the Harappans seem to have shared in their cult of explicit fertility

(Fitzsimons 19). Sex is implicit in the sustained display of faeces, entwining pleasure and faecal

revulsion: Freud suggests that faeces are sublimated into pleasure (Laporte 23). Faeces have

ssu disi tt t rs d gks d up i ti cstic ppictis

faecal matter (Laporte 82-83).

T cpcit utti tt is bdid i cs is id i t biit

sx d u i. Pstd it t pcss c tsti di bsis, t

Harappans arrived at a complex and uid conception of sex and gender (Clark 243) where male

and female body parts are interchangeable. In the very naming of Lothal one nds an awareness

of endless transformation. Signifying place of the dead in Gujarati (Leshnik 911), Lothal offers

pc t iv tt is dpdt up dt, cizi i d dt s isttis ts pcss. T c cc ks visib t utbiit tt is t t c t it s

to be human: man is superior to all beings, including the celestial spirits, because he is not

bi but bci. h is utsid icis, ic c dti tt

which represents stable, immovable, and unchangeable being, not free becoming (Bakhtin 364).

lts p tcs spctc u i, xibiti t tstiv pcsss tt

t cstitut t u.


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aIr In The ParISIan goUTS

T i ticks it uidit i t Pisi uts, t it du putscc

vi i s stis it c iti. Dspit t i ssti ipdi

sucti, t uts quit spcius, it p s, us, itc

quipt, d tusds ts t cduits. evti s its pc i tis cctic

assemblage of organic and mechanical parts, each nested within dened, custom-dimensioned

cvitis. I d sctis t ss, s d t ccdt ics cduits

(Belgrand 153), and the very size of the sewers is determined not by the volume of efuents

passing through them but by the conduits that need to be housed (156). Each component is given

its ps spc; v i t ss, cssic fc dcu is. C is tk t iti

bu bt c bjct, psvi its itit d spcti its idividu idtit. T

is pitss t t c cpt ids its busiss: tu rid cis tt

Bd24 engineered a multipurpose sewerage system (35), within the sewers proper, objects

d spcs d t utitsk but v ttd titis.

Metal pipes striate the walls of the gouts, but dont graze them they oat in front of

t s, d t b bckts s vt d uc pubic ttti i its d

24 eu Bd s puckd pvici bscuit t bc husss ci i i tmid-19th century rebuilding of Paris (Reid 29). While he was full of technocratic optimism, he respected and soughtt isd bt cit d ctp pcdts i udtki t dsi d cstucti Piss ss.

Vut d s is d i d t ccdt cduit t sid.rpducd eu Bd,Les travaux souterrainsv. 5, 153.


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T 50

(Parent-Duchtelet 45). Their novelty lies in their ability to inhabit the sewers without gn[ant]

la circulation de leau de lgout (Parent-Duchtelet 175)25: ti vu is i cti visu

cit b psic spti ts. m cubs but cti t s d

bick pis tt pvid psic spti t cduits t s s (Bd

153), maintaining distance and material distinction. Parts are supported and hinged together

vi cd cctis, juxtpsd ist t itut ti ti s. Cd

connections do not attempt to resolve incongruous parts, but present them as uninected and

utd t c t.

I bstii usi pts tt ti uctis, t uts pst

a multiplicity of parts that are unabashedly materially and spatially inefcient. Clunky and

inelegant, the conduits sprawl out across the surface of the sewer vault, a oating constellation

of metallic masses. They do not attempt to be more visually palatable, their crude material nish

d kd ctis bi t piit cic uctii t t sttic

csidti. Ti disis d t spd t t disis t u bd, d

v c u ppsi: t cduits sttc bd t k t stti .Dspit ti substti ss, t cduits ct itss tt is t sip t id

itssss ti t psitis.

g l pits ut tt t pcpti itss is ti: udstds

vitti cs d, i its bsc, itss tu t tisip utip sss.

25 impeding the ow of water in the sewers

Vut t cct s bt u r. f Pu Stuss,Paris ignor (1892).rpducd rsid wiis,Notes on the Underground, 73.


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T 51

T s s pvid vitti k tt s t cduits t pp it. I

what Rudolf Arnheim describes as a very complex hierarchy of weights, each operating as the

center of a eld of its own (46), the heavy sewer masonry out-pulls the gravitational force of the

conduits and denes a visual center of gravity for the space. The ovoid shape of the sewer vaults

its t vitti vct, its ccvit cti , cuvd ud ist ic t

conduits oat. The diffused distribution of the conduits adds to their perceived lightness, each

conduit attempting to pull its own weight against the others without the benet of collective

cti. T spc bt t cduits cts u distc bt bjct d ud t

give the conduits an increase in power and independence (Arnheim 46). They appear free and

autonomous from the sewer walls, ceas[ing] to seem merely the most remote outreaches of the

earthbound structure (Armheim 46). The conduits have a planetary relationship to the sewer

cvit, c pssssi its vitti cctistics.

Within each of the conduits is a microcosm of differential gravities (Lynn), the

substcs tt cductd pssssi vitti c tt cpts it t c

each pipe. While public and private drinking water ows through two of the conduits (Belgrand205, Reid 35), telegraph signals, electricity and mail are conducted through the others (Belgrand

208, Reid 35). In the two drinking water conduits, water must ll the entire pipe to maintain

continuous ow and avoid air blockage, constituting a dynamic volume with a gravitational force

tt utis tt t cti. T diki t pip bcs it s tt ps

around the solid stream of water. In conduits supplying other amenities, a more planetary


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T 52

tisip is td bt t pip d its ctts, t bc vitti cs

being less asymmetric. Telegraph wires are bundled into lead pipes (Belgrand 208), as are

electricity wires supporting the system for trafc lights (Reid 35), creating a dense core inside the

pips. T is suspdd iti t pip, i t pip pps suspdd ud

t is; ctts d cti pssss sii vitti c.

T st cduits Piss putic pst vcuus it t ccsi t i

capsule and rapidly expanding compressed air passing through (Cermak 1). The pipe becomes

the gravitational framework within which the capsules oat: the gravitational force of the static

pip utis tt t bi cpsus. T ppt itssss t cpsus is

matter of gravitational difference (Lynn), the weight of the capsules being less than the weight

cpssd i tt is sd t t s ti s t cpsus. Dspit its ivisibiit, i

psic pus t st it iti t pip.

outsid t putic tubs, t i t uts is cd it zdus ss, d

the risk of asphyxiation is heightened (Belgrand 256-257). In areas of poor maintenance, the

air is streaked with various foul odours that Parent-Duchtelet identied as odeur fade (82),odeur ammoniacale (83), odeur dhydrogne sulfure (85), odeur putride (85), odeur

forte et repoussante (86), and odeurs spciales (87)26. It is iic tt i is sit i t

tubs, s ccupts v d its quit. rt t sustii i, i is usd

biit, sdi t tuts d spitis Pisis tuut t cit. T v t

26 sickly odour, the odour of ammonia, the odour of hydrogen sulde, putrid odour, strong and repulsive odour,spci dus


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aspiration has the alternative meaning of breathing forth: implicit in the use of compressed

i cuicti is u bt. Istd usi bt t spk, bt bcs

mechanical operation that delivers messages in the form of les petits bleus cards. The act

bti is pd b u, but b i pup; cuictis

spk, but tud it psic ds.

I Su Bcktts 35-scd pBreath (1969), the act of breathing replaces actors

tt. wi u psc is ipicit i t p-cdd suds itis d

xtis, t ps tit d t tb bsc us st cus bt s

p idpdt us. Bt is uttizd, vtui t tisip

between breath and human life. In the gouts, Luce Irigarays claim that [b]reathing

corresponds to the rst autonomous gesture of the living human being. To come into the world

supposes inhaling and exhaling oneself (73), turns into breathing as indifferent to human life.

Uik u bt, t uttd pducti i vt i t putic tubs

is uidicti. T is iti xti, xc i d t

tub t t t. mi tvi tu t tubs t ds up cvi dub tip tamount of distance necessary to achieve its destination (Messagerie en sous-sol). Mechanized

breath facilitates quick movement, but not efciency. The directness of human communication is

i t si-dicti cstits uttizd cuicti.

auttd cti is sii dpd i t ut itc pcss. w-vs

d ti qutic cutpts, btu-vs, id tu t uts, ddi s


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T 54

sdit itut u itvti. Sitti tp is, bs, t, t cid

by the ow of the sewage, their sluice gates collecting sediment up to 100 m in length (Belgrand

187). The collected sediment is kept moving not only by the physical force of the sluice gates

behind it but by the ow of sewage, so that the wagon-vannes and sediment move together as

t csistt pc. Bd dscibs t s dispct t sdit s du-ik

(187), the ow of sewage operating the same way that wind operates in the desert. The ow of

sewage resembles the ow of air.

Sewage ow produces the same lightness as air ow, minimizing friction between objects

s tt vti ids. T btu-vs pss tu t uts is uidd b is t

iti s bu bt t bd t btu-v d t sids t s

tu. T s tt ps ud t btu-v is ctiv bcus it is vitti

vi t t bt, just s t it dic bt t btu-v d t s

keeps the bateau-vanne aoat.

T s picip ssi diti sss t ip vt is ppid i

t sip tt ccts t lt Bk uts t t rit Bk uts. T sip ptsautomatically: passing beneath the Seine, two tubes made of sheet metal ush wastewater

from the Left Bank using differential air pressure (Belgrand 112). Self-cleansing is facilitated by

di up t dic i t ti dsitis d d t, iiti u

w-v is.rpducd eu Bd,Les travaux souterrains de Paris v. 5, 185.


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T 55

maintenance. A wooden ball that is tted to the diameter of the tubes is inserted into the Left

Bk d t sip d cid b t cut. w it cs t rit Bk,

t sip bcs vtic, d t b iss t t suc quick t t du t

its ss dsit, ti vi vcuu tt ds i t sdit i t tubs. It

sucs t rit Bk, bii it it sid tis tt c c up t tub (Bd

112, Reid 32). The force of non-human phenomena is retained and respected in the gouts,

bviti u pticipti i its uctiis.

hus v itt t d it t pi ptis t uts. wkss bdis d

t t it tisip it t -vs, t btu-vs t s, ic

cpx ssts vitti dic tt dti ti psiti i ti t c

t. T v t ut cvit dis t u bd ct psiti ic t

pciv spc.

Belgrands formal approximation of an ellipse creates a concave space that is passive

(Arnheim 97). The volume seems to be hollowed out by an invading possessor (97), but at the

foci of the volume one does not nd the human occupant that Arnheim describes. Humans can ibit t t ds t ips i t cduits td t t pip t

sewer, leaving the foci occupied by an invisible invader: air. It is air from which vectors issue

radially and ll the empty space (96), air that is being amplied and extended, pushing the walls

utds uti t sistc t suudi si cs t t t.


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Tam 56

ai is t pus ut cvitis i subt stuctus, ivi udud spcs

an effect of lightness. Lynn claims that the relationship of the burrow to the ground is light

because there is no single gravitational force that xes the space [] practically any direction or

orientation is gravitationally and structurally possible (23). Below the ground plane, the gouts

no longer refer to the horizon but freely oat in soil, weightless.

Dspit t diti i i t uts, t it v cvit is cibtd

for erect human movement (Reid 35). The form of the sewers is not perceived as an extension of

t u bd s p ais dscipti, but t disis t s csidt

u bd disis. witi t ss, us pssiv ccupts, ttd

pppit spc tt kps t t pp distc t t ssts usd i t

uts. lik t cduits tt cu sptd css t s vut, u spc is

dsid s tt t is ctct bt us d t ts iti t ut. T

cduits istd i u t u pss bt, sid pts id

u u ccupti itut busi ist t ut s i it t s

tu. T pt is ui spd t 3 c p t t s t k tu tsewers without slipping (Reid 30), separating human movement from sewage movement, which

is sped up through the use of varying slopes at different points of the gouts (Belgrand 104-105).

hus ttd ik t quipt i t uts: bjcts it dsitd pcs tt

c spt t t bjcts.


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T 57

Dsct it t ss is bdi xpic suspsi. Cibi d t s

d s, t u bd ibits vtic cu i d is ii supptd b

rungs clinging to the surface of the masonry. In deeper wells, the rungs end in a oating platform

ic sticss , di t pts it sid t s tu. Ts spcs

are specied for human habitation and defy gravity, creating a sense of weightlessness that

spts t u bd t tiit d ss t uts, ik t cduits tt

oat away from the wall of the sewers. The bodys capacity for interaction is frustrated by the

v-pst spti bu tt kps us spt vti s.

hus bc bstds t t uttd ptis t uts, spctts

supvis t xcuti uttd ctis. S t ti udic,

s spcttsip s b xpdd t t pubic. Dtic iti s b istd t

emphasize the spectacular aspect of the gouts (Reid 41), and deluxe wagon-vannes used to

shuttle 400 visitors daily on tours of the Sbastopol and Rivoli sewers (Belgrand 209). The

spti spti bt visits d t ti substc t uts d t uts

ldds d sticss di d t t s cvit t is ctd it tp t s.rpducd eu Bd,Les travaux souterrains de Paris v. 5, 73.


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T 58

t bit pvctiv xpic. Visiti diitis v b tk tus t

sewers, and the general public in Belgrands day ocked to partake in this form of dignied

ttit:

I st ps u suvi t, ps u ps iptt

qui it quitt Pis ss vi visit s cctus. ls Pisis

ux-s, diit si idits c qui s pss utu

dux, t tu visit cs uvs, dt i sb qu t

la destination eussent d les loigner (Belgrand 209)27

Demarcating a space for humans apart from the space of lth and crude industrial objects is a

pit stu tt psvs t icic distictis pscibd b dcu. It is du t tis

pcivd pitss tt t ss bc ttctiv spcs t usu pusd pubic.

Amply buffered from their environs, ladies dressed in their nery could tread the sewers with no

reservations (Reid 40). Maintained regularly, Belgrands sewers leave only an innocuous odeur

fade (qtd. in Reid 44), and visitors are afforded comfort and safety in the knowledge that there

is d ci it ctct it idct substcs.Surrounded by a cushion of air space, visitors can view the black turgid waters at our

feet (qtd. in Reid 41) at a secure distance. The division between passive spectator and active

pticipt sts up ttic tisip t uts bc s dispi t

27 There is no foreign sovereign, no important gure who left Paris without having visited the main seweris. T Pisis tsvs, usu s idit t t pps ud t, t t visit ts

ks, ts it ss tt t d t dstiti ud v kpt


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T 59

revolutionary possibilities offered by new technology to the public (Messageries en sous-

sol). Pneumatic tubes are not the only novel modes of communication, as telegraphic wires

tscibd cuicti t t ssib t t t ivisib d

itib. T issib bcs i it ptti pctic us, d i s t

bckud vd i t bc udd suc. T piitiv d udsib

is u i is tsd it cpssib c tt is t i p i t

uts.

I t udud, tc is t pdit ct. rsid wiis bsvs

t pizi tc i t subt:

Subt suudis, t ii, uis

a model of an articial environment from which nature has been

ctiv bisd. hu bis iv udud ust

us cic dvics t pvid t cssitis i: d, it,

even air. Nature provides only space (4)

While Williamss recognition of the articiality of the underground environment is warranted,her claim that it does so by eliminating nature is problematic. If one is to dene nature as all

tt is t tpic ii, t is xp tu tt s i t uts.

Pt-Ductt vivid dscibs t is ub ts tt ibitd t uts

the Ancien Rgime (95), the mushrooms that sprouted all over the sewer walls (94), and the

gas bubbles (98) that indicated microbial processes of myriad bacteria breaking down faecal

tt.


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Tam 60

nt d -u s i tiv i t ss, t ss ctiuus

it tu ssts. nuus sctis t uts subd i t t tb

and alleviate water pressure on their concrete shells by permitting groundwater to inltrate the

sewage trough through perforations (see discussion of the Collecteur dAsnires in Belgrand 87).

Groundwater coalesces with wastewater, blurring the distinction between natural and articial

ssts. f bi sti spc, t ss t it tus cudit; tu d

cizti cxist i t uts.

rt t iiti tu, t uts iit u c. T bu spcs

tt idit t u psc, d t pcsss tt ccu itut d

u itvti. hu itvti is css vt is ipdd,

d is td t s substcs stt. at t -vs d btu-vs

nish their course downstream, humans have to pull them back up to their initial position (Reid

32). Depressions in the sewers accumulate sand brought in by storm water, and are manually

vd b s t it t vid subjcti t pubic t t bsiss putid du (rid

32). Solid materials from the siphon are manually stored in a 200-meter gallery upstream ofthe siphon (Belgrand 116). Humans are backstage labourers in the gouts, performing the most

put tsks i subsidi spcs, i uttd pcsss tk t t st. mu

action is conned to rear spaces with foul odours, while automated action is afliated with

sit spcs d ciss.

Cstt vt is t distiuiss Bds ss t sti

ss t aci ri. Pt-Ductts uid ccuts dd sud i t

d ss sp ut t Bds uts i t vid i ti pccupti it s


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Tam 61

biit. w s succubs t tp, sids sik t t btt d cust s tp,

which is toujours bossele et ingale, forme par une succession de zones, et est dsigne par

s uvis sus dpeau de crapeau, cpis ssi, is d pus d

exactitude [original italics] (Parent-Duchtelet 78)28. Pt-Ductts dscipti sucs

i BdsLes travaux souterrains, t si-it s cps t

i t cstuct sst t it bjcts ts dsid b us.

Reid points out that the term gout connotes a place where the water and the

refuse have an outow, as opposed to cloaca, which indicates a place where the water is

stagnant and putrid (35). Cloacae are associated with the anatomy (36), and alongside that the

uctb ds d us t u bd. T uts i tu jct t u t

b bci utti, sitti bci sus it cizti. T bbis

t u bd is pcd b ppit d tstuss: rid dscibs t s

system as having celebrated mechanical elegance (35). Mechanized motion promises clarity

and precision, eroding the fear generated by the obscurity of lth. Predictable and impassive,

uttd ptis pvid tidt t t d pusiv cc tt is supi ttpic ctivit.

28 always bumpy and uneven, formed by a succession of zones, and is designated by the workers as toads skin,css cpis, but tt is t tst ccuc


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Tam 62

ahmeDaBaDS29 KhorIC DraInS

Coasting through a network of intersecting stoneware tunnels (Mehta, Shah),

adbds s ccupis spc tt is us d upssssiv. T iti

t pips s ctiuus suc tt is st, ipvius, d stuc ui. T

spc pip is idistiuisb t xt: xpici spc is quivt t

xpici t ts. Tvi tu t dis30 is ki t sti i stsis, s

pic dispct ki tt ipcptib dic. T pips tsvs

idit t t ccupti substcs, d ci t tt ic psss tu

them. Dened by no distinguishable boundaries, the drains have no territorial ambitions. They

ctt t t ctiuus st substcs t d v itut tii s uc

s k ckdt tt t s c t ctct.

adbds dis cstitut -pcs. T diss ck idividu idtit d

passivity blatantly contradict the key components of place as a site of both meaningful identity

d immediate agency [original emphases] (Oakes 510). Their existence is pegged upon servings, ti ti d td t xicis csistt, xpdit s

29 lctd i wst Idi, adbd is k its tpusip d busiss dsip, vi c-cumulated signicant wealth through trade and the textile industry (M. Bhatt 2). The largest city in the Gujarat state,t cit s ttctd t ttti its ivtiv istuctu udi ciss d su istuctuscs v t pst dcd.30 S d st t di bt cd dis i adbd v tu t sptsystems. Drains usually refers to sewers in this section, as storm water drainage will usually be referred to by its fullname if the context does not make it clear which system is being denoted. The nominal conation of the two is fairlyindicative of the publics perception of them: oftentimes sewers are used to alleviate ooding during the monsoon, ands u ds up i t st t pips.


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Tam 63

ow. They borrow meaning from their temporary contents: the very name of sewerage signies

the carrying away of refuse (OED), an action that is other-directed rather than self-constituting.

Refuse is the primary substance that is addressed in the term sewerage. The interior space

of the drains remains unnamed, recalling Derridas attempted

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