Marching Mobile Toilet
Ancient marching mobile toilets were characterized by strict management, special designs, and the reuse of excreta.
Military laws imposed strict regulations on soldiers' toilet use. Ancient military laws did not allow soldiers to relieve themselves at will but had clear rules. For example, as recorded in Mozi: Preparing for the Siege of City Gates, if soldiers relieved themselves randomly while defending a city, they would be punished with facial tattooing (Qing, a punishment of branding on the face) as if they had dumped ashes on the road. The Comprehensive Military Manual of the Song Dynasty stipulated that there should be one 'toilet pit' for every 20 soldiers in the military camp. If soldiers violated this rule, they would receive a punishment of 80 strokes with a stick. These regulations reflected the importance ancient armies placed on sanitation management, aiming to maintain order in the military camp and prevent the spread of diseases.
Marching mobile toilets had special designs. Armies from different regions invented marching toilets with unique features according to their actual needs. For instance, the Roman legions invented 'marching toilets' with a design of wooden frames suspending chamber pots, which was convenient for soldiers to use. For a thousand-man unit, the feces produced daily needed to be buried deeply for disinfection. Otherwise, if an epidemic broke out, the entire camp would be slaughtered to enforce military discipline. In China's border regions, there were 'dry toilet carts'. Oxen or horses pulled wooden boxes to collect feces, and they were processed collectively after traveling 30 li (about 15 kilometers) a day, effectively solving the sanitation problems during marches.
There were various ways to reuse excreta. Ancient armies also paid attention to the reuse of excreta to maximize resources. During city defenses in the Ming Dynasty, soldiers would boil feces to make 'golden juice' and pour it on the wounds of enemy soldiers, using its corrosiveness to kill them. This was a unique defensive tactic. In addition, Mongolian cavalry would dry horse dung as fuel to solve energy problems during marches. The Roman legions used urine to tan leather, improving the quality and durability of the leather. These reuse methods not only reduced waste generation but also provided additional resource support for the armies.
