Ancient Roman Water Acquisition

From modern dayFrance…

1

Image: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EBq9covCU9o/RotnNrG6YII/AAAAAAAACDk/M1QEHmownhM/s400/YIMG_2326.JPG

Image: http://guidesofistanbul.com/eng/images/bozdogan_2/766662-roman_aqueduct-Istanbul.jpg

to Turkey…

2

Image: http://www.guenter-lehnen-koeln.de/Denkmaeler_62.jpg

Image: http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/12917/dsc_2102-1124.jpg

from Germany…

to Tunis…

3

Image: http://www.aymavilles.vda.it/site/foto/DSC_0028_302_l.jpg

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/ilelouine4.jpg

from the Alps mountains…

to the mountains ofAlgeria…

4

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/Almunecar3042603.JPG/800px-

Almunecar3042603.JPG

Image: http://www.greatcommission.com/israel/CaesareaMaritimaRomanAqueduct.jpg

from the shores of Spain

to the beaches of Israel…

the Romans built one-storey aqueducts,

5Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Aqueduc.jpg/800px-Aqueduc.jpg

two storey aqueducts…

6Image: http://www.andalucia.com/province/granada/almunecar/image/3506-14monumentos.jpg

three storey aqueducts,

7Image: http://images.cdn.fotopedia.com/flickr-4262726711-original.jpg

and four storey aqueducts.8Image: http://costablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/nerja_aqueduct.jpg

BUT, these magnificent structures

which we call aqueducts today, were in reality,only a fraction of the system

by which ancient Romans acquired water.

Fully 80 % of Roman aqueductslay hidden underground or in workaday disguise.

Let’s look at the aqueduct of Segoviain Spain to discover how the Romans got their

drinking water.9

ANCIENT ROMAN WATER ACQUISITION

10

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Vista-aerea-del-acueducto-de-Segovia.jpg/800px-Vista-aerea-del-acueducto-de-Segovia.jpg

to

11

distribution

underground seepage

water collection

covered trench

tunnel

shafts

underground

seepageo

tunnelsubstruction

arcade

Image adapted from: Aicher, Peter J. Guide to the Aqueducts of Ancient Rome. 1st ed. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc., 1995. p. 12.

Headwater Collection: Caput Aquae

sedimentation

On a steep hillside in central Spain, a small mountain stream…

12Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/weirtopsegovia.jpg

…is slowed and strained to capture a supply of pure, fresh water which is then sent…

13Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/weirsegovia.jpg

…past the granite dam…

14

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/P5082778.jpg

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/

aquasite/foto/weirblockssegovia.jpg

and through a regulating sluice gate.

to

15

distribution

underground seepage

water collection

open/covered trench

tunnel

shafts

underground

seepageo

tunnelsubstruction

arcade


Open and Covered Trenches:Canales

sedimentation

It then

would have flowed along

an openstone

conduit…

16

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/weirblockssegovia.jpg

before being covered with large, flat stones designed to shield the fresh water

from the sun and from contaminants.

17

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/coversegovia.jpg

These flat stones could be removed for access to several small settling basins designed to slow the flow of rushing water and let sand carried from the mountain stream sink below the water’s current.

18

Image: http://roma.andreapollett.com/S3/roma-aq2.htm

to

19

distribution

underground seepage

water collection

open/covered trench

tunnel

shafts

underground

seepageo

tunnelsubstruction

arcade


Underground Tunnel: Specus

sedimentation

After passing the settling basins, the mountainwater entered a long underground tunnel called the specus. In many locations, the Romans had no choice but to cut these through solid rock, but if possible, they built a specus by digging a trench in the earth and constructing its side walls, floor and roof, in that order. The roof could be flat, pointed, or arched. A specus could be constructed of stone, brick or cement; it was coated inside with waterproof plaster, and when completed, it was then buried, making it resistant to wind or storm damage, enemy destruction, and even some earthquakes.

20

Aicher, Peter J. Guide to the Aqueducts of Ancient Rome. 1st ed. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc., 1995. p. 11.

The specus: an aqueduct’sundeground channel

21


Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/tekconduitmodel.jpg

Image:http://roma.andreapollett.com/S3/roma-

aq2.htm

to

22

distribution

underground seepage

water collection

open/covered trench

tunnel

shafts

underground

seepageo

tunnelsubstruction

arcade


Shafts: Putei or Lumina

sedimentation

Above a buried specus, a series of evenly spaced manholes, called putei, marked its path across the countryside. Each puteus brought air and light (lumen) into the buried specus and allowed maintenance crews to descend into the water channel for cleaning and repair.

23

Image: http://www.celtiberia.net/imagftp/im199269499-Arquetas.jpg

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/koelnputei.jpg

At the bottom of each puteus, the flowing water was aerated as it fell into a drop basin designed to catch and remove debris from the main specus.

24

Image: http://www.celtiberia.net/imagftp/im199269587-Agua-arquetas.jpg

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/lijntekstillingbasin.jpg

Puteus and sedimentation

drop basin

Workers would remove the mud and debris by hauling buckets up the puteus shaft.They would also clean the specus walls by removing calcium and hard-water deposits called sinter.

25

Image: http://www.TinyURL.com/287cux7

Image: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01565/aquaduct_1565777c.jpg

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/a

quasite/foto/roupbridge.jpg

Image: http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/2010/01/29/aqueduct1-825x550.jpg

Related to settling and drop basins, regulation basins might use a sluice gate to divert the flow of water from a specus during its cleaning or repair.

26


Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/

aquasite/foto/P5082778.jpg

to

27

distribution

underground seepage

water collection

open/covered trench

tunnel

shafts

underground

seepageo

tunnelsubstruction

arcade


Sedimentation or Cleaning Tanks:Piscina Limaria

sedimentation

As the flowing water neared its destination, the specus rose again to ground level. At this point, it entered a preliminary cleansing facility called a piscina limaria; in Latin the word for mud is limus.

28

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/casapiedra1.jpg

In this little building, incoming water would slow its flow and settle into a basin designed to gather particles of dirt and debris in a pit at the bottom. Water intake could be halted with a metal sluice gate while workers cleaned and then flushed the sediment from the pit.

29

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/casapiedrain.jpg

After the water was

cleaned, it left thispiscinalimaria

and traveled on in its open-airconduit.

30

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/casapiedra1.jpg

A short distance ahead, the water flowed intoanother, larger piscina limaria…

31

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/casaaquas.jpg

…where it fell into a deeper drop basin. As the water rose back up again, a separate shunting channel…

32

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/casaaquain2.jpg

carried the water into a side tank in which a

stone sieve filtered the flow one last time

before it reached the upcoming arcade.

33


to

34

distribution

underground seepage

water collection

open/covered trench

tunnel

shafts

underground

seepageo

tunnelsubstruction

arcade


Elevating Wall:Substructio

sedimentation

Leaving the large settling basin, the water continued its trip forward on top of a substructio, a raised stone wall, usually no more than 7-10 feet high, supporting the specus without the use of arches.

35

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/casaaqua0.jpg

to

36

distribution

underground seepage

water collection

open/covered trench

tunnel

shafts

underground

seepageo

tunnelsubstruction

arcade


Elevating Arches or ArcadeArcuationes

sedimentation

After travelling on the substructio for 463 feet, the water channel then rose slowly onto the first level of the 2240 foot long arcuatio, or arcade bridge, on which it would cross the deep valley ahead.

37

Image: http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8uWGonu6jVk/SavtVX1YDvI/AAAAAAAAAvw/vqVBqCfF6Ks/s800/DSC00992.JPG

After a several sharp angles, the conduit finally turned out onto a double arcade and…

38

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/curvesegovia.jpg

…crossed a long straightaway as the arches below…

39

Image: http://www.ige.csic.es/HWC2006/espanol/images/acueducto.jpg

rose to a dizzying height of 95 feet before…

40

Image: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/457600861_d67a0fdeb5.jpg

reaching the opposite side and descending once again towards the ground, where the mountain stream’s water would be distributed to the city.

41

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/finalarchessegovia.jpg

to

42

distribution

underground seepage

water collection

open/covered trench

tunnel

shafts

underground

seepageo

tunnelsubstruction

arcade


Water Distribution

sedimentation

Sedimentation Tanks and CisternsPiscinae et Cisternae

43


ground level pressurized subterranean pipes secondary

castella and

water towers

sedimentation/cistern

homes, industrybathspublic fountains

closed system (pressurized) open system (gravitational)

main castellum

At the end of an aqueduct, water was often delivered to large holding tanks, called cisterns.

44Image: http://pjspictures.me.uk/images/Cr_Cistern.jpg

These also served as final piscinae limariae, slowing the water’s flow through multiple chambers and allowing one last chance for sediment to cleaned out of the water before delivery to the public.

45

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/p2castellumvirgo.jpg

Main Water House and Delivery PipesCastella Aquae, Pipae et Fistulae

Castellum Divisorium

46



castella and

water towers




main castellum aquae

The aqueduct’s water then arrived at the rear of the main distribution house, called the castellum

aquae or the castellum divisorium. 47

Image: http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/7287015.jpg

48

paraphrase of Vitruvius, De Architectura 8.6.1-2. cf. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/8*.html

When [aqueducts] are brought to the walls of the city a castellum is built, with a triple cistern attached to it to receive the water. In the castellum are three pipes of equal sizes, [each] connected in such a manner that when water overflows [from the side basins], it is discharged into the middle one. [From that middle basin comes a pipe for the public fountains, and from the side basins come pipes] a)for the supply of the thermae(baths), thus affording a yearly revenue to the people and b) for the supply of private houses… Vitruvius, De Architectura 8.6.1-2.

Castellumdivisorium:

sluice gates to control and direct

flow of water

strainer

lead weir

public supply

thermae

private supply

49

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/lijntekpompeii.jpg

Water entering the castellum divisorium…50

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Castellum_Aquae_Pompeii_271.jpg

…was divided into three channels…51

Image: http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/tourisme/pont-du-gard/img/pont-du-gard-12.jpg

52

Image: http://www.eskimo.com/~mikeg/italy_2007/water_dept.jpg

…which exited the building in three pipes.

53

Image: http://roma.andreapollett.com/S3/roma-aq2.htm

Image: http://roma.andreapollett.com/

S3/roma-aq2.htm

Image: http://www.eskimo.com/~mikeg/

italy_2007/water_dept.jpg

“That the flavor of water conveyed in

earthen pipes is better, is shown at our daily meals, for

all those whose tables are furnished with silver vessels, nevertheless use

earthenware vessels because the

purity of the water’s flavor is

preserved in them”

Vitruvius, De Architectura 8.11http://penelope.uchicago.edu/

Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/8*.html

“Water conducted

through earthen pipes is more

wholesome than that through

lead;This may be verified by

observing those who work with lead; they are of a pallid color…”

54

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparker/2662921627/in/photostream/

Image: http://www.eskimo.com/~mikeg/italy_2007/water_pipes.jpg

Paraphrase of:Vitruvius, De Architectura 8.1-11

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/

Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/8*.html

55

Nevertheless, lead pipes were almost essential for

delivering water under pressure throughout many large Roman cities. The possible side-effects of that lead

may well have been diminished, however, by the natural buildup of

minerals within these pipes, mirroring the accumulation of sinter within an

aqueduct’s specus.

Water Towers and Water Pressure:Secondary Castella and Public Consumption

56



castella and

water towers




main castellum

Thirsty visitors gather for a drink. Where will their water come from?

57

Image: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/94/260046813_06c17543b4.jpg

In most Roman cities, the castellum aquae was located, as it was in Pompeii, on the highest spot in town. There the great force of the mighty aqueduct pushed water into small diameter lead pipes and that water, further pressurized by gravity on its downhill route, continued on to secondary castella, which we call water towers, located in many local neighborhoods. There, lead pipes carried the water up into lead-lined basins at the top of brick towers 15 or more feet tall. Such gravity-feed mini-reservoirs reduced and regulated the pressure of the water as it entered the next set of pipes… 58

Image: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/foto/lijntekwatertorenpompeii.jpg

Oleson, John. Handbook of engineering and technology in the Classical world. 1st. New York,, NY: Oxford University Press, USA, 2008. 303.

which actually delivered the water for the public to drink

at a corner fountain…

59

Image: http://lejournaldelouise.com/wp-content/gallery/rome/pompeii-water-fountain.jpg

Image: http://image09.webshots.com/9/8/79/35/115187935GPIMbo_ph.jpg

…or carry back in a bucket to businesses or homes in their neighborhood.

60

Image: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nHmUxKq2nz4/SiC_RBHjJeI/AAAAAAAAB3k/umlse2xG5NI/s1600-h/2008-05-22+257+Ercolano+-+Herculaneum.jpg

Image: http://www.ostia-antica.org/regio2/pr/viafon.htm

Some wealthy Romans paid to have water piped directly into their homes, where it often was put to use for fountains in their own private gardens (horti).

61

Image: http://enginova.com/water Image: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1136/624800701_ee6a3e9e87.jpg

Image: http://museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/discoverycentre/

pompeii/objects/water-pipe/

62

Remember, too, that one- third of the water leaving

a castellum divisorium, was directed to the public baths.

In the thermae, it filled both steamy hot-water soaking basins and cold-water plunge pools…

63Image: http://images.travelpod.com/users/bandglittle/

uk2006.1167413760.pc292754.jpg

Image: http://0.tqn.com/d/gouk/1/0/O/-/-/-/bath.jpg

… and, as a fresh supply continually

entered, dirty water was channeled from

the bathhouse...

into adjoining latrines, where it flushed away waste and, in many Roman cities, carried it outdoors

64

Image: http://images.travelpod.com/users/bandglittle/uk2006.1167413760.pc292754.jpg

into cloacae (sewers) under the street, which then carried it to nearby rivers or the sea-

65

Image: http://0.tqn.com/d/ancienthistory/1/0/s/a/2/800px-040227_tevere16CloacaMaxima.jpg

Image: http://www.tempt.ee/uploads/3457_cloaca%20maxima1.jpg

underscoring why Romans expended such great effort tobuild the aqueducts that supplied fresh water from afar.

Documents

Ancient Roman Water Acquisition