Battle of Cannae men and equipment, and a second massive defeat later that same year at Silva Litana, the Romans refused to surrender to Hannibal. His offer to ransom survivors was brusquely refused. With grim determination the Romans fought for 14 more years until they achieved victory at the Battle of Zama. Although for most of the following decades the battle was seen solely as a major Roman disaster, by modern times Cannae acquired a mythic quality, and is often used as an example of the perfect defeat of an enemy army. It was studied by German strategists prior to World War II,
Sanitation in ancient Rome sanitation artifacts of the ancient world. Most sources believe it was built during the reign of the three Etruscan kings in the sixth century BC. This "greatest sewer" of Rome was originally built to drain the low-lying land around the Forum. It is not known how effective the sewers were, especially in removing excrement. From very early times the Romans, in imitation of the Etruscans, built underground channels to drain rainwater that might otherwise wash away precious topsoil, used ditches to drain swamps (such as the Pontine Marshes), and dug subterranean channels to drain marshy areas. Over time, the Romans