ABSTRACT
In the beginning, there was the dungeon. It was a temporary holding facility for accused offenders awaiting trial and convicted offenders awaiting punishment. In ancient Rome the first dungeons were underground, often beneath the sewers. An early reform demanded the inmates could be able to see the light of day. Long-term confinement was not an issue. Punishment (either corporal or capital) was meted out to those convicted on site by the dungeon personnel and was public. Most castles and cities had a dungeon.
