Aqueducts: The Solution to Rome's Water Troubles

Aqueducts: The Solution to Rome's Water Troubles Aqueducts: Solution Rome's Water Troubles 56808341059002.jpg

Rome’s very first raised aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 273 BC; prior to that, inhabitants living at higher elevations had to rely on local creeks for their water. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the only technologies available at the time to supply water to spots of higher elevation. In the very early sixteenth century, the city began to make use of the water that flowed beneath the earth through Acqua Vergine to furnish water to Pincian Hill. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. The manholes made it less demanding to maintain the channel, but it was also possible to use buckets to extract water from the aqueduct, as we viewed with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he bought the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he passed away. He didn’t get a sufficient quantity of water from the cistern that he had constructed on his property to collect rainwater. To give himself with a more practical means to obtain water, he had one of the manholes exposed, offering him access to the aqueduct below his property.

Wall Fountains: The Minoan Civilization

Wall Fountains: The Minoan Civilization On the Greek island of Crete, digs have unearthed conduits of several kinds. They were used for water supply as well as removal of storm water and wastewater. Virtually all were prepared from clay or rock. When made from clay, they were generally in the form of canals and circular or rectangle-shaped piping. Amidst these were terracotta pipes that were U-shaped or a shortened, cone-like shape which have exclusively appeared in Minoan society. Terracotta piping were put down under the flooring at Knossos Palace and used to distribute water. The clay water lines were furthermore used for gathering and storing water. Thus, these pipelines had to be able to: Underground Water Transportation: At first this technique seems to have been created not for ease but to give water to specific people or rituals without it being seen. Quality Water Transportation: Some historians consider that these pipes were chosen to build a different distribution process for the residence.