I was just taking a shower and began wondering about the history of the shower. Was there anything like a shower before modern plumbing? Or were there only baths until plumbing?
It's not 'plumbing' as such that makes showers practical, but electric pumps and modern water heaters.
To have a shower, the water must first be elevated to a higher level than the shower to create water pressure.
In the ancient world there is some evidence that a few Roman bath houses had showers, fed by an aqueduct, but the water would have been cold and continually flowing.
In the 18th century shower devices appeared, but they were not very practical. Water had to be emptied into a raised container bucket by bucket, or using a hand pump. If you wanted to heat the water, it would first have to be heated in a pot on the stove, and it would be difficult to get it to the right temperature when you came to have a shower.
Manually operated showers were sometimes used in the 18th and 19th century by colonials in tropical climates like India - cold water, and used to cool down when the weather was very hot, rather than to wash.
Practical showers require a running water system with water lifted to water tower by electric pumps to maintain water pressure, a system of water pipes, and modern water heaters. It was only in the second half of the 20th century that showers as we know them started to become popular.
Excavations at the ancient Greek city of Pergamum uncovered a large communal shower where lead pipes allowed water to be pumped in and out. Hot showers are a more modern invention.