It's to the plumbing engineers of the Old Roman Empire that the Western world owes its allegiance. The glory of the Roman legions lay not only in the roads they built and the system of law and order they provided. It was their engineering genius and the skill of their craftsmen that enabled them to erect great baths and recreation
centers, the water supplied by aqueducts from sources miles away.
The Latin term "plumbus" means "lead," as was also the weight at the end of a line for perpendicular alignment. The plumber was a worker in lead who, in today's connotation, repairs or fits the apparatus of water distribution in and to a building. The Roman artisan plumbed pipe, soldered, installed and repaired; he worked on roofs and gutters, down to sewers and drains; in essence, everything involving supply and waste. In fact, this general job description of
plumber's work lasted into the 20th century.
