Why did ancient Roman toilets have large openings in the front?

The Romans were well advanced in the art of war, but they were also great at sanitation and building lavatories. The hole at the top is made for obvious reasons, such as for your waste to be able to hit the flowing water below, but the opening in the front, almost like a chamber, was made for nothing more important than the hole at the top. Urination. A man would waltz right up to the toilet, glance at the gentleman to his left and right, then proceed to relieve himself. As it usually is, the stream would stop and slow towards the end, and his urine would start to dribble, but! the opening in the front comes in, and does its part. It allows for a person who is urinating to hit the hole without making a mess of the stone around it. Not only does it serve that purpose though, sitting on it is more comfortable this way, it forms to your legs, and having the opening helps with a person to have their genitals hang, instead of touch a stone which has had more than enough of its share of privates.

In good sense, the toilets they crafted were the best thing they could do, if you take away that gap in the front, the process becomes slightly more strenuous, and less enjoyable to the user!

Females in this sense would also have easier access to wipe from the front. The addition of arm room works both ways for both genders in nearly every situation. If the space was removed, it would be, again, more difficult to finish a process which should be extremely easy and well versed.

EDIT* - After the recommendation of fellow Quorans, I decided I should mention that the opening would also serve a great deal of importance in cleaning their “sponge on a stick.” Accordingly, they would have enough room to fit their arm into the opening.

I would more than likely be the person to wash my stick as the second the person to my left drops a barrel of waste causing it to get on my sponge…regardless, I hope you enjoyed the answer, and even I learned something new by everyone’s kindness and consideration to share.

Thanks for reading!