Year 3Lesson 3

Aqueducts

Let’s look at an aqueduct in Hispania (Can you remember what this country is called today?)

Segovia in the 1st Century AD

We are in Segovia at the end of the first century after the birth of Christ, or Anno Domini (Latin for ‘Year of the Lord’).It is precisely the year AD98.

Trajan has just become the first Roman Emperor born in Hispania. He was born in Italica, near present-day Sevilla.

Hispania = Spain

The Aqueduct is Finished!

This is Lucius. He is 8 years old and he is very observant.

Although there are no newspapers in ancient Rome, they have scrolls where they write important matters, and Lucius likes writing little articles to be published in them.

We could say that he is a Roman journalist!

Lucius has decided that his next article should be about the Segovia aqueduct, which has just been finished after many years of construction.

It’s impressive! I’m sure people will want to know more

about it.

The Aqueduct is Finished!

Although the ancient Romans were brilliant engineers, big public building projects still took a long time.

Good morning! Could I ask you some questions

about the aqueduct?

I am quite busy, but if you are quick, that’s

fine.

When did the building work begin?

Now it’s over to you: What tools and machines do you think Roman engineers were able to use?

We started the building work for the aqueduct in AD69, way before you were born!

Understanding Aqueducts

What does the word aqueduct mean?

It means ‘waterway’. As you know, in Latin aqua means water and duct comes from

ducere which means ‘to lead’. The aqueduct ‘leads’ the water to where we need

it.

So aqueducts are built to bring water

from distant places to Roman cities?

That’s right, they are a form of water

transportation.

But I can’t see the water. Where is it?

It travels through a channel along the top of

the aqueduct.

A Very Long Channel

Is the aqueduct very long?

Yes, it’s more than 15 kilometres long. It brings the water from a

river called Río Frío, which means ‘the cold river’.

Really? But here in Segovia it doesn’t look that long!

No, it doesn’t. This is the aqueduct’s highest part, and it is 28 metres long. Would you be able to tell me how

many arches there are?

I don’t know… about 100?

Not bad! There are 167 arches in two rows, one

on top of the other.

Holding the Stones TogetherUnlike how we construct buildings today, the Romans didn’t have access to cement, mortar or any other material that would act as a glue to hold the pieces together.

Instead, they relied on geometry to ensure the heavy granite blocks all balanced and stayed together.

Why do the blocks have a small hole in

the middle?

You’ve got good eyesight! We make holes in them so that they won’t fall when the

machines are moving them into place.

The Invention of the Arch

Now it’s my turn to ask you a question. How many stones

make up an arch?

Let me see… 15!

Yes, an odd number of stones. That’s because we always need to have a stone in the middle. It’s

called the keystone and it helps to distribute the weight so that there is a perfect balance between

the blocks.

Until the keystone is put in place, we build a wooden structure called a shuttering to support the stone blocks and prevent the

whole arch structure from falling down.

The Romans were the first civilisation to use arches in outdoor structures.

Gravity: a Good Friend for Roman Engineers

By studying the forces exerted by the different parts of the aqueduct, Roman engineers achieved a perfect balance between them, holding up all of the arch structure without a fixing material.

But I still don’t understand how you make the water move from a river 15

kilometres away!Us Roman engineers have studied how

steep or shallow, and how wide or narrow we need to make the channel to make water flow from the river at

just the right speed.

I see! Well, thank you so much for your help.

It was a pleasure! You are a clever young man!

Gravity is the force that keeps together the stone blocks that make up the arches and columns of the Segovia aqueduct.

The Romans didn’t know what gravity was but they understood its effects.

Famous Roman Aqueducts

Pont du Gard Valens Aqueduct

Ponte delle Torri

aqueduct, Spoleto, Italy

Your task today is to create your own aqueduct. To be successful, you must find a way to transport water from one place to another.

You can use any resources you like. Remember to work safely; using tools, equipment and resources safely. Check with your adult before you take or cut anything up.

Before you test your aqueduct with water, make sure you are in an area suitable for water spillages!

If you are unable to make an aqueduct which carries water, you could always try making a model of an aqueduct. You could use paper for this by folding it and rolling it to create the structure.