ROMAN HISTORY

AQUEDUCTSBy – Uzma Zaki

BEFORE AQUEDUCTS?

• Before the development of aqueduct technology, Romans, like most of their contemporaries in the ancient world, relied on local water sources such as springs and streams, supplemented by groundwater from privately or publicly owned wells, and by seasonal rain-water drained from rooftops into storage jars and cisterns.

WHY AQUEDUCTS?

• The reliance of ancient communities upon such water resources restricted their potential growth.

• Rome had several springs within its perimeter walls but its groundwater was notoriously unpalatable; water from the river Tiber was badly affected by pollution and waterborne diseases.

WHAT ARE AQUEDUCTS?

• The great and highly advanced Roman waterway system known as the Aqueducts, are among the greatest achievements in the ancient world. The running water, indoor plumbing and sewer system carrying away disease from the population within the Empire wasn't surpassed in capability until very modern times. The Aqueducts, being the most visible and glorious piece of the ancient water system, stand as a testament to Roman engineering. Some of these ancient structures are still in use today in various capacities.

• The Romans constructed numerous aqueducts in order to bring water from distant sources into cities and towns, supplying public baths, latrines, fountains and private households. Waste was removed by complex sewage systems and released into nearby bodies of water, keeping the towns clean and free from effluent. Aqueducts also provided water for mining operations, milling, farms and gardens.

• Aqueducts moved water through gravity alone, being constructed along a slight downward gradient within conduits of stone, brick or concrete. Most were buried beneath the ground, and followed its contours; obstructing peaks were circumvented or, less often, tunnelled through..Rome's first aqueduct supplied a water fountain sited at the city's cattle market

Pont du Gard – Part of Nimes Aqueduct

MATERIAL USED?

• The aqueducts were built from a combination of stone, brick and the special volcanic cement pozzoulana.

MAINTAINANCE?

• Maintenance of the water system was a continuous task, and the Romans assigned a Curator Aquarum to oversee this undertaking. Paid laborers, slaves and the legions all had parts in building parts of the water system. The Curator Aquarum maintained the aqueducts of Rome, while similar curators oversaw those in the provinces.

USES?

• Civic and domestic• Farming• Industrial work

DECLINE?• With the fall of the Roman Empire, some

aqueducts were deliberately cut by enemies but many more fell into disuse through lack of organized maintenance. Their failure had an impact on the population of cities; Rome's decline from its high of over 1 million in the Imperial era to as low as 30,000 in the medieval era. Observations made by the Spaniard Pedro Tafur, who visited Rome in 1436, reveal misunderstandings of the very nature of the Roman aqueducts.

EXAMPLES

Pont du Gard• The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman

aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River in the south of France.

• The bridge is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50-kilometer system built in the first century AD to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes)

• Located near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard• Highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts• Construction end - 40-60 AD?• Construction cost - 30 million sesterces (est.)• Closed - 6th century?

Design Arch bridge

Material Shelly limestone

Total length •upper: 275 m (902 ft) (originally: 360 m (1,180 ft))•mid: 242 m (794 ft)•low: 142 m (466 ft)

Width •6.4 m (21 ft) (max)•1.2 m (4 ft) (aqueduct)

Height •48.8 m (160 ft) (total)•1.8 m (6 ft) (aqueduct)

Number of spans •upper: 35 (originally: 47)•mid: 11•low: 6

Piers in water 5

Aqua Claudia