Indoor
toilets have been invented several times in
Western history. One of the last times was during the
Elizabethan era, when a simple long drop system was used, especially when the
building in question was on top of a
hill or overlooking a
cliff or
body of water. There,
rainwater was collected in a
barrel on the
roof, and allowed to flush staggered toilets below in a privy tower. However, the resulting
smell was not really all that nice, and consequently, the space immediately adjacent to the room-with-the-toilet was walled off into a little room called the "privy chamber". Since a person on the pot was singularly vulnerable to attack, only the ruler's more trusted fellows were allowed in, and consequently, it became a good place to hold
high-security meetings, even after people stopped using the
jakes and started using
chamberpots instead. You may now
giggle when you hear the words "
Privy Council" -- I doubt whether anyone meeting knows about this.
And no, I did not make this up.