In our time of scientific and economic achievements, new professions appear , while others, as unnecessary, disappear or are transformed. An example of this is the goldsmith. This profession existed in Russia until the end of the nineteenth century. It got its name due to the fact that sewage poured into the streets was jokingly called nightly "gold." To date, this work is carried out by sewage collectors. Zolotar is not a very pleasant profession.
Responsibilities of the goldsmith
The duties of the goldsmith included:
- liquidation and removal of sewer masses in special barrels;
- cleaning from dirt and sewage of latrines;
- maintaining the necessary sanitary standards in the narrow streets of cities, where often due to lack of sewage, slop and dirt poured right from the windows onto the street.
Zolotar is a useful and necessary profession in Russia. Due to the nature of working with sewage, being a goldsmith was considered shameful. But these people often helped to avoid epidemics in big cities. And of course, it’s much easier for modern washers to work. Indeed, over the past one hundred and fifty years, sewage systems and new technological methods of cleaning waste and sewage have appeared in all cities.
Currently, the suction trucks work with the so-called sludge pumps, thanks to which they can quickly pump out liquid waste and take them to the place of disposal. Unlike the carts with barrels used by the goldsmiths, the suction pumps do not let in odors and cause inconvenience to residents.
But, unfortunately, both zolotari in the past and cesspool workers are currently susceptible to various infectious diseases. Most often, they suffer from parasites that can disguise themselves as a variety of diseases - from asthma to dysbiosis or gastritis.
Goldsmith tools
In order for the goldsmith to work, he had to have the following tools:
- Cart.
- A barrel in which sewage was transported. She had to not let water in and firmly close.
- The bucket, with which the goldenhead cleared the cesspools.
In addition to human sewage, the streets were full of horse manure. And therefore, Zolotar is a highly paid and very difficult profession. Otherwise, city residents would have to take out the waste themselves outside the city to specially designated places. Namely, thanks to the goldfish, residents avoided contact with sewage.
Zolotar - a profession in culture
The great Soviet writer Mayakovsky mentions the goldsmith in one of his poems precisely at that time period when this profession evolved into a cesspool worker.
In addition, this profession is mentioned in the popular book "The Last Watch", written by Sergey Lukyanenko. In it, the cunning elder Afandi pretends that he does not know any Other Geser and deliberately confuses him with the goldsmith from Binkent, who has long since died. So he decided to make a joke on the main character Anton Gorodetsky. True, in just a couple of minutes it turns out that old Afandi knows Geser and all his affairs.
Zolotar - a profession (photo is in the article) is difficult, but deserves respect. Without these hardworking people, life in the city would have been impossible. In addition, thanks to the goldfish, the city had clean water obtained from rivers and lakes. Otherwise, in the first rain, uncleaned sewage would spoil the fresh water.