Young Brunette Girl Having A Shower In The Studio

The first group of people to have showers that would be recognizable to a modern person were the ancient Greeks. Their aqueducts and sewage systems made of lead pipes allowed water to be pumped both into and out of large communal shower rooms used by elites and common citizens alike. These rooms have been discovered at the site of the city Pergamum and can also be found represented in pottery of the era. The depictions are very similar to modern locker room shower, and even included bars to hang up clothing. The ancient Romans in their love of everything Greek also followed this convention. Their famous bathhouses can be found all around the Mediterranean and as far out as modern day England. The Romans not only had these showers, but also believed in bathing multiple times a week, if not every day. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity, practicing what is today considered good hygiene became a religious taboo and was abandoned almost completely from the late Middle Ages until the Victorian era.
The advanced water and sewage systems developed by the Greeks and Romans quickly broke down and fell out of use after the fall of their great empires. It was not until the 19th century that a system nearly as complex or reliable as the Greek and Roman sewers was rebuilt. The first showers in the modern era were self-contained units where water could be reused several times. In the early 19th century (probably around 1810, though there is some contradiction among sources), the English Regency Shower was anonymously invented. The original design was over ten feet tall, and was made of several metal pipes painted to look like bamboo. On the top of the unit was a basin connected to these pipes. The water was pumped through a nozzle and over the occupant's shoulders before being collected and pumped back into the basin. This prototype went through several renovations including hand pumped models, models with several sprayers, and those with interchangeable nozzles. The reinvention of reliable indoor plumbing around 1850 allowed the freestanding showers to be connected to a running water source, making them easier to use. In addition the increase in access to heated water made bathing more comfortable and popular. Even with the new improvements in their design, the shower remained less popular than the bath in industrialised countries until the second half of the 20th century.