One of the great, if often overlooked, architectural achievements of the Roman Empire was their sewer system. Although only the wealthiest homes had toilets per se, human wasste was flushed from public latrines that flowed through a central channel. Over time, the Romans expanded the network of these channels that ran through the city and linked most of them to the so called Cloaca Maxima (or the great sewer), which emptied into the Tiber River. In 33 BC, under the emperor Augustus, they enclosed the Cloaca Maxima, creating a large tunnel--making it similar in some ways to todayâs modern sewer systems. In fact, the Romans were so impressed by their achievement that they worshipped a goddess devoted specifically to their sewer system named Cloacina!