Editing Sewer (section)

==Existence in various settings==

One important fact: A lot of historical cities lacked sewers. This lead to problems with fecal-spread disease, obviously, but people at the time didn't know that. All they knew was that shit stank, and getting rid of it further then out on the street was a luxury, particularly when horses were also a common mode of transport.

Which is not to say they didn't exist, it's just that they were ''rare''.

Modern sewers, on the other hand, are actually rather tiny. A typical sewage pipe maxes out at 12 inches. And, once the pipe is in, you rarely have a need to access it, except to clear it out, which is more easily done with various tools that go inside the pipe, or replacing it.

On the other hand, there were frequently tunnels beneath the ground, particularly in cities prone to siege or in places with tombs. Further, flood drainage tunnels (where rainwater goes to prevent flooding) have always been a thing. But neither of these are sewers.