This study deals with the water system elements from twenty-five ancient Greek sites. The elements are grouped (as in the comparative case-studies of Chapter 15) into eight main categories, with that of “fittings and auxiliaries” subdivided into seventeen kinds of elements. Although 25 sites times 8 categories times 17 elements is 3400 possible combinations, which is more than we have room to discuss in a limited work like this, from a statistical point of view such numbers are trivial. However, scientists have recently been working with the concept of “clusters” in cases like this one where the assortments are too few for applying the methods of statistics (see H. Blalock, Causal Inferrence in Non-Experimental Research.) What they look for are combinations that seem to recur in meaningful patterns. One can think of a partially ordered set, where the order is apparent within categories but not over all of them. Bathtubs, for instance, can be arranged in groups of like form, but distinguishing between large bathtubs and small plunge pools may be difficult. Alternately, one may know the relative order of categories, but not their absolute magnitude. An example here is A, not knowing a language at all; B, being able to read the language; C, speaking and reading the language fluently. At what point does B grade into C? It’s a judgment call. Throughout this book I have approached the material with an eye to what we can determine using irregular and “messy” data, and this concept of clusters has enabled me to appreciate the significance of the combinations of elements that have been observed at different places, times, and by different excavators, even when the number of examples is few. Both the objects found together in clusters, and the certainty of finding them together, vary. For instance, settling or catchment basins (Figs. 16.2, 16.3) are always associated with pipes or channels to facilitate drainage. The ditch and bench supports for a latrine are frequently associated with a sewer under the street outside the building, but sometimes with a cesspool instead.
Water Management in Ancient Greek Cities
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