Roman Aqueducts

Why were aqueducts invented?

• With the population increasing, the Romans faced a problem with water supply.
• They also realized that there were many diseases and infections that spread through water. With aqueducts the Romans could have a fresh source of water to drink from or to take a bath in.
• It was hard for village people and townpeople to get fresh water. Dirty water caused many people to be sick and some died.
• To supply pubilc baths, latrines,fountains, and private households.

Aqua Marcia

How aqueducts were built?

Tunnels

Aqueduct engineers would sometimes carve a tunnel through a mountain rather than bulid a bridge around one. When dug not to dip they sometimes build shafts. By using shafts more than one person could work on a tunnel at a time and slaves could crawl down stone steps to clean the tunnels. Tunnels were an advantage because they didnt disturb surface activities( farming or traffic) and they are vulnerable to wind, erosion, the weather, and earthquakes.

Anatomy of an aqueduct

1.Source

2.Steep Chutes

3.Settling Tank

4. Tunnel and Shafts

5. Covered Trench

6. Aqueducts Bridge

7. Siphon

8. Substruction

9. Arcade

10. Distribution Basin

11. Water Distribution

Pressurized pipes

Pressurized pipes were used to bring water through the valley. The pipes were usually built with lead which can handle strong water pressure. Roman water engineers build these rather than arcades because tall arcades are too unstable when they were really tall. They would often used pressurized pipes they were inverted siphons.

• The Aqua Marcia was the longest of any other aqueducts that supplied the city of ancient Rome.
• The Aqua Marcia was constructed by Quintus Marcius Rex( from 144-140 BC and was repaired by Marcus Agrippa in 33 BC.
• This aqueduct was well known for its cold and pure waters.
• The water provided from the Aqua Marcia helped Rome expand into a large imperial city.

Tunnels

Parts of an Aqueduct

Are aqueducts still used today?

Covered Trench

Channel

Tunnel

Pressurized Pipe

Wall

Arcade

• The Roman aqueducts were built from a combination of bricks, stones and speacial volcanic cement called pozzuolana.
• Majority of the aqueducts ran underground, water channels were dug below the surface or bored through rock.
• They were made at different gradients and gravity which helped in the continuous flow of water. Water from the source flowed in the castella or cisterns.

Many Roman aqueducts are not in use today, instead of aqueducts they use pipes. One aqueduct is still in use in Rome, the Aqua Virgo which is mainly use to control pollution and not so much for the water.

Walls

Aqueduct engineers built aqueducts on walls whenener they came across shallow depressions in the landscape. Walls were easier to built than arcades even though it impede the natural flow of water and people.

The End

Arcades

Castella

Arcades

Covered Trenches

Trenches are used when the aqueduct follows the contour of the land. They protected from the stress of wind and erosion while in one. They are easy and quick to build and they are less disruptive to life than walls and arcades.

Arcades were used whenever the aqueduct had to flow higher then about 5'. The aqueducts were largely a gravity system. They had to keep the water at a particular level because if they lost the level it was hard to get it back. The arcades required less materials then walls. When the channel came to a dip in the landscape the Romans built an arcade or a bridge to take over the water.

How did Romans locate water sources?

Aqua Appia

They would often look for a mist or lake and check the qulity of the water. They would also ask local inhabitants what the water was like or look at the complexion of the water( if the water look healthy, that might mean that the water was pure). Green grass or vegetation could be indicators. Sometimes they would dig down to the water table and build an underground tunnel to begin the aqueduct.

• Aqua Appia was the first Roman aqueduct. It was constructed in 312 B.C. by Appius Claudius Caecus ( a Roman politician from a wealthy patrician family).
• This aqueduct is sixteen kilometers long.
• This Aqua Appia travels the lowest underground than any other aqueduct, stretching 8 miles to the Sabine Hills outside Rome.
• It afforded protection from attackers during the Samnite Wars.

Aqua Appia

How did Romans locate water sources?

Definition of an Aqueduct

A bridgelike structure supporting a conduit or canal passing over a river or low ground.

• They would often look for a mist or lake and check the quality of the water.
• They would also ask local inhabitants what the water was like or look at the complexion of the water( if the water looked healthy, that might meant that the water was pure).
• Green grass or vegetation could be indicators.
• Sometimes they would dig down to the water tables and build an underground tunnel to begin an aqueduct.
• Springs were the most common source for aqueduct water. Springs are water flowing or seeping out of an opening in the ground or hillside. Most of Rome's water supply came from various springs in the Anio valley and its uplands.
• Before the the invention of aqueducts the Romans got water from the Tiber and wells sunk in the city.

Roman Aqueducts

By: Rodeshia Taylor