The main achievement of the engineering thought of ancient Rome is often recognized as the construction of aqueducts. It was these structures that performed the most important function of water supply for cities that consume more and more water. But in a narrow sense, an aqueduct is understood not as the entire water supply system, but only as part of it, which is a crossing over rivers, ravines, roads. And it is these parts of the complex water supply system that currently attract thousands of tourists. So, today we will look at the Roman aqueducts.
History of Roman aqueducts
The construction of aqueducts began in Rome. The population of this city exceeded one million inhabitants, and there was a need to supply the city not only with water for drinking, but also for technical purposes. Here it is worth remembering the desire of the Romans to create widespread comfort and the abundant distribution of Roman thermal baths. Of course, it was possible to take water from wells, but the growth in consumption made it necessary to make a direct supply of water from mountain sources.
The aqueduct in Rome appeared already in the 4th century BC, and by the 3rd century BC. there were already 11 of them. In the 1st century AD, the famous Claudius aqueduct was built, which, at a height of 27 meters, was 30 km shorter than the old Marcius aqueduct (total length of about 60 kilometers). The reduction in distance was achieved through the multiple use of a system of tunnels and bridges.
Claudius Aqueduct
Pont du Gard in Nimes (France)
Another famous Roman aqueduct was built in the 2nd century AD in southern France across the Garde River. Its modern name is the Pont du Gard or Garde Bridge. The aqueduct provided water to the city of Nimes. The bridge is the only remnant of the complex Nimes aqueduct system that has survived to this day, stretching for 50 kilometers. The bridge is 49 meters high and 275 meters long. There are three arched levels. The first level consists of 6 arches. The central arch of this level, connecting the banks of the river, has a span of 24.4 meters. The second level already has 11 arches. The last third level, designed for the water pipe, has 35 smaller arches. The Pont du Gard is still in use as a bridge crossing.
Pont du Gard
Roman aqueduct in Segovia (Spain)
The next aqueduct is located in the Spanish city of Segovia. The height of the aqueduct is 30 meters, the length is 17 kilometers. One of the surviving spans is now located right in the center of the city. In order to provide central water supply in the old days, water from this aqueduct entered the central cistern, from where it was already distributed to other intracity systems. In the 11th century, this aqueduct was partially destroyed by the Moors, but in the 15th century it was restored and still provides water to the regions of Segovia.
Aqueduct in Segovia
Roman aqueducts were built even in Africa. Water supply was provided by Caesarea (aqueduct 23 km), Maktar (9 km), Carthage (80 km).
As Julius Frontinus (the chief water supplier of Rome at the beginning of the 2nd century) noted, aqueducts are the main evidence of the greatness of the Roman Empire, and they cannot even be compared with the useless Egyptian pyramids and other idle buildings of Greece. Indeed, these water supply systems gave impetus to the development of civilization, rooted the construction of baths, pools, fountains. And given the fact that some of these buildings from the time of the greatness of ancient Rome function to this day, one has only to be surprised and enjoy their greatness and the genius of engineering thought of ancient times.
An aqueduct (from the Latin - “to carry water”) is an irrigation structure that performs several functions. First of all, it is a pipeline through which water is supplied to settlements. Then there is a complex irrigation system that allows you to bring water to dry fields with crops growing on them.
The first aqueducts appeared several millennia ago in the Middle East. It is known for certain that already in the 7th century BC, lime irrigation systems were present in the Assyrian lands, through the valleys of which they carried countless waters to the country's capital, Nineveh. Total length the aqueduct was more than eighty kilometers.
Irrigation of ancient Rome was intended to saturate cities and places of industrial development with water. Local aqueducts were built on the territory of the Roman state for centuries: eleven water supply systems led to the capital alone, more than three hundred and fifty kilometers long.
In ancient times, aqueducts were known to all civilizations without exception - they were equally well used by both the Mayans and the ancient Greeks. In the Middle Ages, the Roman experience in building ground water pipes was lost, and before late XIX centuries, irrigation systems gradually came to naught. The most famous aqueduct in Russia was built on the border of the XVIII-XIX centuries in the area of modern Moscow Mytishchi.
10 ancient aqueducts.
1. Tambomachay, Peru
Tambomachay (translated into Russian - “resort” or “resting place”) is one of the most ancient aqueducts that at one time performed a cultural and religious rather than a practical function. The Peruvian aqueduct was built to irrigate the royal gardens, where the rulers of the Inca civilization liked to relax. For a long time, Tambochay itself was a sacred relic of Peru - this building was dedicated to the cult of water. In its structure, the aqueduct was a complex system of canals and water cascades flowing gracefully over gray rocks.
2. Aqueduct Park in Rome (Aqueduct Park), Italy
The Roman Aqueduct Park is a grandiose monument of ancient culture, consisting of seven (out of eleven) irrigation systems that have survived to this day. Passing through the picturesque valley, stretching between the New Appian Way and Tuscolana, they, like many centuries ago, keep their way to the side. Thanks to them, the capital ancient empire remained for centuries as one of the cleanest and most enlightened capitals in the world. Roman aqueducts saturated the city to such an extent that free citizens already in those distant times could afford to take baths, drain latrines and enjoy the beauty of numerous fountains.
3. Aqueducts in Caesarea (Caesarea Aqueduct), Israel
Aqueducts in Caesarea began to be built under the notorious Herod the Great. During his reign, in the newly built Mediterranean city, the first aqueduct was carried out from Mount Carmel, with a total length of ten kilometers. The second "pipeline" was made during the time of the emperor Hadrian, who considered that the overgrown Caesarea was desperately short of drinking water. Both aqueducts ran parallel to each other and had the same length. A special channel was cut in the rock to supply water to them. The channels of the aqueducts were cement, plastered, both on the outer and inner side of the channel, walls.
4. Underground aqueducts Nazca (Nazca Aqueducts or Cantalloc Aqueduct), Peru
The underground Nazca aqueducts were built by South Peruvian Indians to provide their agricultural land with sufficient irrigation moisture. They had a complex internal structure and were so large that a person of average height could easily enter them. The walls of the underground channels were reinforced with massive stone blocks, and the ceilings were covered with mesquite beams. The underground nature of the aqueducts made it possible to prevent the evaporation of moisture in the hot Peruvian climate. At the same time, along the entire route of the water pipeline, there were special openings through which it was possible to descend into the aqueduct to clean it. Through them, excess moisture was removed from the Indian irrigation system to the earth's surface.
5. Aqueducts and canals in Hampi (Hampi Aqueducts), India
In the history of India, Hampi is known as the capital of the ancient, powerful Vijayanagar Empire. From the city built in the 14th century, many majestic architectural and communication structures, including various aqueducts, have survived to this day. In those distant times, Indian water pipes were used to irrigate banana plantations. By the way, both work quite well in Hampi today. In addition to irrigation, aqueducts and canals in Hampi, taking water from the surrounding mountains, were also used to fill special stone baths-pools intended for ablution.
6. Merida Aqueduct (Acueducto de los Milagros), Spain
The Spanish aqueduct in Merida is known as Los Milagros, which means "Aqueduct of Miracles" in Russian. Built from three ultra-strong materials - granite, concrete and brick - it had a length of two hundred and twenty-seven meters and towered twenty-five meters above the ground. Los Milagros has reached our days in a dilapidated state, which, however, does not prevent us from appreciating its architectural attractiveness. The granite pillars of the aqueduct contained red brick inserts. The semicircles of the arches of the irrigation structure were laid out last. There is a version that such an architectural concept formed the basis of the Arab Mosque of Cordoba.
7. Aqueduct de las Ferreres (Les Ferreres Aqueduct), Spain
The aqueduct de las Ferreres, or "Devil's Bridge", was built from stone blocks in the 1st century BC to provide water to the ancient Roman city of Taracco. Water was supplied to it from two rivers - Gaia and Francoli. Collected in the Rowrey area, it was distributed through smaller canals and aqueducts leading to de las Ferreres. The Spanish "Devil's Bridge" is architectural structure, with a total length of two hundred and seventeen and a height of twenty-six meters. The structure of two arches (eleven at the bottom and twenty-five at the top) contained the plumbing on its upper tier. The Aqueduct de las Ferreres is one of the most complete European aqueducts that have come down to us.
The Turkish aqueduct of Valens was built in the 4th century AD from stones that previously formed the basis of the famous ancient Greek city - Chalcedon. Located between two hills, it provided water to Constantinople, now known as Istanbul. The total length of Valens was a thousand meters, the height of the aqueduct at its maximum point was twenty-six meters. Valenta was the operating water supply system of Istanbul until the 19th century. Today, the Valens Aqueduct is an important cultural attraction in Istanbul. It is located in the old part of the city, above Ataturk Boulevard.
The aqueduct in Segovia is known as the longest Western European aqueduct that has survived to this day. Its total length is eight hundred and eighteen, and its height is highest point- twenty nine meters. More than twenty thousand granite slabs were involved in the construction of the aqueduct. At the same time, the structure itself is just a ground component of a much more complex and long (multi-kilometer) water supply system. The exact date of construction of the aqueduct is unknown, but historians believe that it was erected during the reign of Emperor Vespasian or Nerva, in the 1st century BC. In 1985, the aqueduct in Segovia was included in.
The Pont du Gard aqueduct or the "Bridge over the Gard" is known as the highest of all ancient Roman aqueducts that have survived to this day. At its highest point, it reaches a height of forty-seven meters, which is twice the average classical height of ancient European aqueducts. The Pont du Gard was built in the 1st century AD to supply water to the city of Neem. The architectural design of the aqueduct consists of three tiers: at the bottom of the structure there are six large ones, in the middle - eleven medium ones and at the top - thirty-five small arches.
The term "aqueduct" came to us from the Latin language (aguae ductus) and in translation means "leading water" (agua - water, duco - I lead). What is an aqueduct in the modern Russian sense? This is a structure for passing water flows at a considerable height through rough terrain, including barriers of natural and man-made origin.
The aqueduct is used to provide water to settlements, industrial production or agricultural land from a remote source of water located on a hill. The principle of operation of the aqueduct is the free supply of water through a gutter, ditch, pipe under a slight slope. In this way, physical laws are used that allow, without additional effort, to move huge flows of water through artificially created channels.
From the history of aqueducts
The history of the emergence of aqueducts originates from the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians, who learned to build conduits to supply their homes with water, observing the natural flow of rivers - from a hill to a lower area.
Back in the 7th century BC. The Assyrians erected a limestone aqueduct to provide water to their capital, Nineveh. The spring was separated from the capital by a wide valley. The length of the conduit was 80 kilometers, and its three hundred meter section above the valley reached a height of ten meters.
History has preserved information about the aqueducts that were built by the Mayan tribes and the ancient Greeks. The ancient Greek traveler, geographer and historian Herodotus sang the aqueduct on the island of Samos as one of the wonders of the world.
The aqueducts built by the ancient Romans differed significantly from the first structures in terms of their technology, already at that time waterproof materials such as pozzolanic concrete were used for their construction.
The best architects took part in the construction of aqueducts, making complex accurate calculations. For example, the aqueduct in Provence, the Pont du Gard, had a difference in height between the source and the end point of only 17 meters. At the same time, its total length was 50 kilometers, and for each kilometer the slope was only 34 centimeters. Such accuracy and the best construction technologies provided the Roman aqueducts with centuries of successful use - even a thousand years after the collapse of the Roman Empire, the aqueducts have not lost their technological significance.
In some cases, during the construction of aqueducts, the surface difference was over 50 meters. In order to ensure the free passage of the water flow, the builders created an additional pressure conduit (siphon). These technologies are still used today, when when laying water pipes it is necessary to cross places with significant depressions.
Modern use of aqueducts
In the modern sense, the definition of what an aqueduct is is to describe a structure designed to move large streams of water overhead. Given the high cost of building and maintaining aqueducts compared to underground water pipelines, today their construction is justified only in densely populated mountainous countries, mainly where the laying of an underground water conduit is associated with certain difficulties.
However, in a number of countries aqueducts are operated, designed to pass ships over the riverbed or over the valley. These bridge structures make it possible to connect canal systems that small vessels can pass through. Their construction began in the 17th century, and some of them are still successfully operating today.
The most famous modern water bridges for shipping are:
Magdeburg navigable aqueduct (Germany, 2003) 918 meters long, laid above the surface of the earth across the Elbe River and connecting the Elbe-Havel and Mitteland canals. 
Pontkysillte Aqueduct, Wrexham (Great Britain, 1795-1805). A water bridge was built in the Dee Valley to connect the coal mines of Denbighshire with the national shipping channels via the Ellesmere Canal. 
Swivel water bridge, Barton (UK). It was built on the River Irwell and is intended to carry the Bridgewater Canal through the Manchester Ship. The rotary aqueduct was built in 1894 and has no analogues in the whole world. 
Aqueduct (from Latin aqua - water and ducere - conduct) - a conduit (canal, pipe) for supplying water to settlements, irrigation and hydropower systems from their sources located above.
An aqueduct in a narrower sense is called a part of a conduit in the form of a bridge over a ravine, river, road. Sufficient in width aqueducts could also be used by courts. An aqueduct is similar in structure to a viaduct, with the difference that it is used to carry water instead of organizing a road or railway track.
Aqueducts are built of stone, brick, reinforced concrete or steel. Such structures consist of a base on which stone, cast-iron or brick supports are erected (usually stone arches are placed between them for stability), and a bank abutment, on which pipes are laid or ditches are arranged.
Story
Pont du Gard, France, an ancient Roman aqueduct that has survived to this day, one of the most visited places in France by tourists
Although most associated with the Romans, aqueducts were invented centuries earlier in the Middle East, where the Babylonians and Egyptians built elaborate irrigation systems. Roman-style aqueducts were in use as early as the 7th century BC. when the Assyrians built a limestone aqueduct 10 meters high and 300 meters long to carry water across the valley to their capital, Nineveh; the total length of the aqueduct was 80 kilometers.
The Romans built numerous aqueducts to deliver water to cities and towns. industrial places. Water was supplied to the city of Rome itself through 11 aqueducts, which were built over 500 years and had a total length of almost 350 kilometers. However, only 47 kilometers of these were above ground: most were underground (the Eifel aqueduct in Germany is a very well-preserved example of this). The longest Roman aqueduct was built in the 2nd century AD to supply water to Carthage (now this place is located on the territory of modern Tunisia), its length was 141 kilometers.
During the construction, advanced building materials were used - such as waterproof pozzolanic concrete.
Roman aqueducts were extremely complex structures, technologically they were not obsolete even 1000 years after the fall of the Roman Empire. They were built with remarkable accuracy: the Pont du Gard aqueduct in Provence had a slope of only 34 cm per kilometer (1:3000), descended only 17 meters vertically, for its entire length of 50 kilometers.
The transport of water by gravity alone was very efficient, with 20,000 cubic meters of water per day passing through the Pont du Gard. Sometimes, when crossing surface depressions with a drop of more than 50 meters, pressure water pipelines were created - siphons (although almost always the insides of bridges were used for this purpose). Modern hydraulic engineering uses similar techniques to allow sewers and water pipes to cross various depressions.
Much of the expertise of Roman engineers was lost during the Dark Wars, and aqueduct construction in Europe virtually ceased until the 19th century. Water was often obtained by digging wells, although this could cause public health problems when the local water supply became contaminated.
One notable exception was the New River, an artificial waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water. Its length was 62 kilometers. The development of canals gave a new impetus to the construction of aqueducts. However, it was not until the 19th century that their construction resumed on a large scale to supply water to rapidly growing cities and to industrial places in need of water. Development of new materials (such as concrete and cast iron) and new technologies (such as steam engine) allowed for many significant improvements. For example, cast iron allowed the construction of large siphons loaded with high pressure, and the creation of steam-powered pumps made it possible to significantly increase the speed and volume of the water flow.
In the 19th century, England became the leading power in the construction of aqueducts, providing water to its largest cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. The largest aqueducts were built in the United States to supply water to the largest cities in this country. The Catskill Aqueduct brought water to New York 190 kilometers away, but this achievement was eclipsed by aqueducts in the far west of the country, most notably the Colorado River Aqueduct, which supplied water to Los Angeles and the surrounding area from a distance of 400 kilometers to the east. Although such aqueducts are undoubtedly great technical achievements, the sheer amount of water they carried has resulted in severe environmental damage resulting from the depletion of the rivers.
Water use in the Roman Empire
The province of Syria was under the rule of Rome for more than seven centuries - from 64 BC. e. until 637. This province was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century. IN Peaceful time The Romans used a huge amount of water. In the capital alone, there were thousands of fountains, drains with drinking water, baths and other water consumers. Wealthy senators bathed in their own pools and built little fountains in their gardens. Therefore, 500 liters of water were consumed daily per person (today in Europe, an average of about 125 liters per person). It was Roman engineers who came up with standard lead pipes, high arched aqueducts and pipelines designed for a pressure of 15 atmospheres.
However, when, shortly before the birth of Christ, the Roman legions came to the barren lands of Palestine, they had to give up their habits, at least for a while. The conquered territory turned out to be too dry, there was not enough water. But this obstacle did not stop the conquerors. They soon figured out how to solve the problem that confronted them. In the former Roman province of Syria (now the territory of the Jordan), German scientists have been studying a huge system of artificial canals for several years. Part of the Roman pipeline is underground and these tunnels are 106 km long.
underground aqueduct
The tunnel was discovered in 2004 by Matthias Döring, professor of fluid mechanics at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (Germany). Studying ancient aqueduct is still going on. Moreover, scientists have only recently been able to imagine in general terms the history of the creation of a giant water pipe. The locals, who called the aqueduct Qanat Firaun - "Pharaoh's channel", believed that gold was hidden in the tunnels dug at a depth of up to 80 m. Dering was the first to realize that the aqueduct had Roman roots. The water supply began at a swamp in Syria, which has long been dried up: 64 km it went on the surface and then disappeared underground three times in tunnels 1, 11 and 94 km long. Previously, scientists considered the longest underwater channel ancient world aqueduct in Bologna, which was 19 km long.
Aqueduct construction methods
The aqueduct tunnels are plastered with waterproof lime mortar, Greek inscriptions are preserved on the walls, and whole colonies of bats live under the ceiling. “Sometimes we even had to interrupt work because people didn’t have enough oxygen in the caves,” said the project leader.
Decapolis cities
A group of ten cities located on the eastern border of the Roman Empire (modern Jordan, Israel and Syria). These cities did not represent an official league or political union, but they were united by a common language, culture, geographical location and political status. The cities of the Decapolis were at the center of regions where Semitic culture flourished. Nabateans, Aramaeans and Jews lived here. Each city had some autonomy and self-government. The names of these ten cities are known thanks to the Roman writer Pliny the Elder. According to other sources, the Decapolis consisted of 18-19 cities. The aqueduct was most likely built by legionnaires. The soldiers hollowed out long corridors and raised more than 600 thousand cubic meters to the surface. m of stones (as an equivalent, this volume can be compared with one quarter of the pyramid of Cheops). This colossal water supply project provided the city of the Decapolis with water supplies. The aqueduct ended at Gadara, a city with a population of 50,000.
Rise of the Roman Empire and the City of Gadara
Dering, along with his students, conducted research using a theodolite, a surveying instrument that measures horizontal and vertical angles, and GPS devices. Scientists have been looking for new entrances leading to this underground tunnel. In the end, the researchers were able to determine that the construction of underground utilities began in 90 AD. e. At that time, the emperor Domitian (81-96) ruled Rome, and the empire was in its heyday. The Roman aristocrat Sextus Julius Frontinus (40−103) supervised the construction of nine stone aqueducts in the eternal city and introduced some technical innovations. The Levant was also booming thanks to trade with Eastern countries. Tigers were brought to Rome, a hand-held lion walked around the throne of Domitian, wealthy senators bought Indian spices and wore clothes made of Chinese silk. Anyone could afford incense or slaves from Arabia. Trade routes across the desert flourished during this period. Many caravans approached the gates of Gadar, which became over time major city. The Romans built two theaters there and even planned the construction of a nymph temple with fountains and a pool 22 meters long.
Water scarcity and the difficulty of building an aqueduct
However, there were not enough local sources, so this region soon began to suffer due to water shortages. The city administration was forced to urgently take some measures. In a remote region of Syria, the Romans found a river from which they began to build a water pipe from Roman concrete (Latin opus caementicium).
The channel was covered with slabs from above to protect it from animals, birds and dirt. In addition, algae did not grow in the canal in complete darkness. The first city through which the water pipe passed was Adraa. But then the mountainous regions of the Northern Jordan blocked the way to the canal. The first serious obstacle for Roman engineers was the wide gorge of Wadi al-Shalal, 200 m deep. The Romans could not build a bridge across such an abyss. But nevertheless, they found a way out of this situation.
The aqueduct near the gorge turns sharply to the left and follows the mountainous region to the south. When the unevenness of the landscape made it impossible to lay an aqueduct on the surface, the Romans began to cut through the rocks an underground channel, the length of which was 11 km. So the engineers got to the place where the gorge became much narrower, and where they were able to build a bridge. The bridge itself has not survived to this day, but the stone blocks from which it was built still rest at the bottom of the gorge. However, after the gorge, the road became even more difficult - hills and steep descents constantly appeared on the way. The Romans had already encountered similar problems near Carthage, so they built an arched stone aqueduct 19 km long.
underground construction
Further, they decided to build the canal underground - thanks to this decision, the Romans did not need to build bridges over ravines and gorges. The builders simply hollowed out tunnels underground. However, serious difficulties arose here as well. In antiquity, people did not yet know the compass. Therefore, they could not navigate underground and know exactly where to lay the tunnel further and how to ensure sufficient ventilation of the underground channel. Having broken through only a few meters, the workers could not breathe normally - the entire passage was filled with a thick curtain of dust during construction. In addition, in the tunnel, which averaged 2.5 m high and 1.5 m wide, only four legionnaires could work at the same time. And four people per day advanced only 10 cm. If the work went at such a pace, then the Romans could still dig a tunnel to Gadar.
Mine system
Surveyors, engineers and miners made a short trip to the east and found a solution to these problems. Dering is confident that he was able to understand exactly how the ancient builders worked. “We found a lot of indications that the engineers first mapped out the path of the water supply on the surface, and then after a certain distance, from 20 to 200 meters, they built inclined shafts to the underground channel.” Fresh air also penetrated down through these shafts. But most importantly, this method allowed hundreds of people to work simultaneously, connecting sections of the canal to each other, moving towards each other. The legionnaires worked mainly with a sharpened chisel, lighting the tunnel with oil lamps.
Research by modern scientists
Today, old mines allow scientists to pinpoint the location of an ancient underground aqueduct. “Almost all the service entrances were sealed up so that the animals would not fall into the mines. Some of the mines ended up being backfilled or filled with construction debris,” Dering explained. And in one of the mines, scientists found chicken bones. The descent into the mines is somewhat complicated even now - scientists are forced to use climbing equipment. Stairs go deep at an angle of 50 °, and the steps over time became overgrown with moss and became too slippery to simply go down. In the tunnel itself, complete darkness reigns, sometimes the researchers do not have enough air. The passages are blocked by fragments of blocks, in such places rainwater collects, which sometimes reaches almost to the waist.
Aqueduct Mysteries
Today, scientists have already found about 300 mines. But they still have a lot of questions that researchers still have not been able to get answers to. “For example, during the first 60 kilometers, the slope of the underground channel is only 0.3 per thousand centimeters,” the head of the project explained. That is, for 1 km, the tunnel goes down by only 30 cm - this is very little. The Romans did not have a level, they used a six-meter tool called a chorobat, which they borrowed from the Persians. They also filled goat intestines with water to calculate the slope at the corners of the structure. However, the existence of these primitive tools does not explain the amazing accuracy with which the aqueduct was built.
“First, surveyors had to calculate the exact multi-kilometer route of the aqueduct and mark this path with poles,” said Dering. Even this was extremely difficult to do in the uneven terrain. Then they had to repeat this path deep underground down to the last centimeter. But how exactly did they manage to do it with such high accuracy? The aqueduct could not be built directly under the intended line, since the shafts did not go deep into the vertical, but at an angle. It is surprising that Roman builders did not make serious mistakes. To meet underground and connect the sections of the tunnel, the legionnaires had to know exactly which way to dig. But the only way to communicate between building sections could only be by tapping. The workers were chiselling the stone, focusing on this sound, but they could well have taken it to the side - then the tunnel would have had a zigzag appearance. But all tunnels are absolutely straight.
The result of construction
It took Roman engineers 120 years to complete the aqueduct. Only after that, underground and surface channels were filled with water from a distant Syrian river. The researchers studied the mineral deposits on the walls of the tunnels and concluded that the flow of water was rushing at a speed of 300 to 700 liters per second.
However, the people of Gadar were disappointed. Initially, it was believed that the water would be collected in a high stone reservoir, which could supply the city fountains and the temple planned for construction. But that did not happen. Apparently, surveyors and engineers made a number of serious mistakes. And the water, having traveled 170 km, arrived in the city too slowly for the great plans of the Romans to become possible. The reservoir was not completely filled, and the fountains in the city did not work. According to Dering, this aqueduct hides many more mysteries. Therefore, the scientist and his team will continue to study the aqueduct from April 2009.
The chapter “Aqueducts” of the subsection “Architecture of the Roman Republic” of the section “Architecture of Ancient Rome” from the book “The General History of Architecture. Volume II. Architecture of the Ancient World (Greece and Rome)”, edited by B.P. Mikhailov.
If bridges as a type of road structures develop further along with the development of transport further in all countries, then aqueducts, if we talk about their above-ground structures, i.e. substructures and arcades, are a typically Roman, and, moreover, exceptional phenomenon. Underground water pipes in channels in pipes made of stone or ceramics were widely used both in ancient greece and in the countries of the ancient East, and at a later time. However, water channels made of concrete and stone, raised above the ground and placed on pillars with arches, appeared only among the Romans and, in essence, if we do not talk about restorations, were typical only for ancient Rome. Despite the fact that the Greeks already had pressurized water pipes in pipes and even siphons, the Romans developed a type of gravitational water supply system with a free mirror of the water flow enclosed in a large rectangular section a channel topped with a vaulted structure or a flat stone slab. The canal, placed on the arcade, was a serious engineering structure, reaching in some places up to 50 m in height (the aqueduct of the city of Nemauz, modern Nima - the Garda bridge).
Aqueduct routes sometimes exceeded a hundred kilometers in length, and the oldest ones were almost completely underground.
During the Republican era, four aqueducts were built in Rome: in 312 BC. - Aqua Appia, in 272 BC - Anio Vetus, in 144 BC - Aqua Marcia, in 125 BC - Aqua Tepula. The latter was radically altered during the time of Augustus. Among them, only the Marcius aqueduct had arcades, the remains of which survive to this day.
Each aqueduct consisted of a water intake system, a canal (specus) through which water flowed from the source to the city, settling tanks and a water distribution system within Rome, and finally, a plumbing network of lead pipes that brought water directly to houses, to consumers.
The oldest of the Roman aqueducts - Aqua Appia, was entirely underground and practically did not differ from the Greek ones. It had a relatively short length (16.617 km) and its channel was either cut into the rock, or, if the soil was soft, a trench was dug in the ground, in which an artificial channel was made of stone slabs, covered from above with a stone vault, and from the inside with waterproof coating. Only a small section of the canal, about 90 m long, was raised on the substructure.
Although the length of the second aqueduct - Anio Vetus - was much longer (63.7 km), the principles of its construction remained the same - only a very small part of the canal (400 m) was placed on substructures. A significant part of its length fell on the bends of the route, since the builders tried as much as possible to avoid the construction of bridges and tunnels.
Only more than 100 years later, the third Roman aqueduct was built - Aqua Marcia - one of the largest and most powerful aqueducts in Rome (Fig. 53). Its total length reached 91.3 km.
The aqueduct of Marcius (144 BC) was both technical and architectural masterpiece. The water in it was distinguished by a pleasant taste and purity, therefore it was intended, unlike the water of other aqueducts, only for drinking. The aqueduct of Marcius was erected by the hands of an army of slaves taken out of two newly destroyed cities - Corinth and Carthage. There is evidence to believe that Greek master builders and architects participated in the design of the aqueduct, as well as in its construction. This conclusion is prompted by an unusually finely developed system of proportions of arcades and bridges, where the use of the golden section is noticeable. The channel of the Marcius aqueduct, coming out of the ground at a distance of 10 km from Rome, was placed on a stone arcade, in some places exceeding 10 m in height.
For the first time, such a significant part of the canal was raised on substructures, so water also flowed into the elevated parts of the city. In addition, the substructures themselves acquired a new character - here for the first time a system of arches was used, previously used only for the construction of bridges. In the Marcius aqueduct, a constructive scheme of this type of structure was developed, which then spread throughout the Roman Empire. The creation of such a grandiose structure (there were more than 1000 arches in the arcade near Rome alone) made it possible to perfect the designs and methods of building arcades, to find the most perfect proportions of individual arches and the arcade as a whole.
Compared with the previous and subsequent aqueducts, the technique of work here is the highest. The arcades and the canal itself are made of local hard tuff in a regular square masonry. The ground parts of the canal, depending on the relief, had a different structure: 1) a canal laid on a solid wall (at the very exit from the ground); 2) a channel laid on a low arcade, where the heels of the arches lie directly on the foundation; 3) a canal laid on an arcade of medium height, with a total height of the structure up to 8 m; 4) a canal laid on a high arcade, with a total height of the structure up to 12 m; 5) a canal laid on special arches, above the intersection of roads, at the point of attachment to the city arcade, etc. The fourth option was typical.
With all the variety of arcade options, they are united by some general principles that create a single image of the entire structure. The most important of these principles is the extremely clear identification of the structure. Semi-circular arches rest freely on the pillars and recede somewhat inward, which creates a clear boundary between the pillar and the arch. The slabs of the bottom of the channel protruding forward separate the channel itself from the arched structure supporting it. The entire structure is completed by another continuous strip of floor slabs.
In order for the arcade of the aqueduct, consisting of identical elements stretching for kilometers, to have not only engineering, but also artistic value, special attention was required to working out proportions. The study of the proportions of the arcade of the Marcius aqueduct shows that the proportionality of the entire structure was achieved both by the introduction of the module and by the use of the "golden section". The channel width of 0.76 m was taken as the module, i.e. 2.5 Roman feet. All other dimensions are multiples of it (both planned and facade). The same size is taken as the original and for the "golden section". The builders followed the “golden section” rule both in solving the details and in solving the main element of the arcade - the section, where this rule determined the ratio of the diameter of the arch to the width of the column, equal to 1: 0.618, giving harmony to the entire section. In contrast to later aqueducts, in the Aqua Marcia arcade one cannot yet see axial proportioning, i.e. dismemberment of the figure along the axes of the pillars. The unity of the figure, united by a circle with a radius of half the height, captures exactly two pillars and one span of the arch; at the same time it is the height of the entire arcade.
The arcade blended well with the landscape of the outskirts of Rome. The slight bends of the route, the fluctuations of the lower marks, inevitable in a hilly terrain, the rich greenery that served as a background, created a very picturesque pattern of the aqueduct. At the same time, a clear, miles-long arcade gave the suburban landscape completeness, that spirit of civilized, "cultivated" nature, which the Romans so valued.
