Building Roman aqueducts Flashcards
Literal meaning of Aquae ductus
Leading of water
First aqueduct in time was built by appuis Claudius in (year)
312 BC
Advantages of open channel aqueducts
Romans had difficulty making high quality pipes of large size
Facilitated repair
Advantages of lead pipe aqueducts
Small size allowed for pressurization which facilitated
- inverted siphons
- final urban water distribution system
“Arcading” of aqueducts refers to
Rows of arches
These were designed to carry water across plains (vs valleys) and “maintain the level of the route”
Arcades
By separating the channel from contours of landscape, these allowed Roman surveyors to finely control elevation of aqueduct and preserve water flow
Arcades
3 advantages of Roman arcades vs Greek earthen embankments
- Less disruptive to the landscape
- Allowed farmers and transport to pass underneath
- Cheapest construction option; saved building material
Main challenges of inverted siphons
Maintaining water pressure; eliminating air bubbles in pipes
Soldering multiple sections of lead pipe - cost, difficulty
Tunnels (through mountains) advantages
Less disruptive of surface activities, such as farming
Protected from wind erosion, weather, earthquakes
Less vulnerable to enemy attack
Main filtration tank, or “little castle” is called
Castellum
Three main outlets for aqueducts in Roman cities
Public baths and thermae, public fountains, and private homes
Forma
Blueprint
Rigor
“Line” of the aqueduct
Simple surveying instrument
Employed plumb lines to maintain level & sight straight horizontal lines
Combined with leveling rods and measuring cords to measure distance
No surviving examples; only fragments in Pompeii
Groma
Basic leveling instrument also used by carpenters and builders; a bench with weighted strings; plumb bobs on the sides were carefully calibrated on angle braces to measure exact horizontal level; included water level in middle
Could mark out perfectly horizontal lines and then measure off desired inclination of slope on angle braces; likely not used for initial surveying of aqueduct, but only for actual leveling during construction, where it measured preside gradient of the channel
Chorobates
The most sophisticated Roman surveying instrument, which allowed more precise measurements
Dioptra
Agrimensores
Surveyors
Gromatici
Technicians trained to use the groma
Mensores
Surveyors trained to measure distances
Operaii
Ordinary laborers (construction) Digging trench, excavating the tunnel
Fabri structores
Masonry construction
Ruderaii
Laid out rudas
Rudas
Crude rubble bedding of the channel
