Water supply of Rome in antiquity and today

doi:10.1007/BF01061685

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Water supply of Rome in antiquity and today

Published Mar 1, 1996 · P. Bono, C. Boni

Environmental Geology

UNKNOWN SJR score

25

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0

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Abstract

In ancient Rome, water was considered a deity to be worshipped and most of all utilized in health and art. The availability of huge water supplies was considered a symbol of opulence and therefore an expression of power. The countryside around Rome offered a spectacular view: it was adorned with an incalculable number of monuments, temples, and villas, and it was crossed by sturdy aqueducts with magnificent arcades. The aqueduct as a superelevated monumental work is a typical concept of the Roman engineering, although it is possible to recognize that the inspiration and the basic ideas came from Etruscan technology. The Etruscans did not construct real aqueducts, even though they built hydraulic works as irrigation channels, drainage systems, dams, etc. The Greeks had also built similar hydraulic structures, before the Roman influence. Interesting aqueduct remains are in Rome, Segovia (Spain), Nimes (France), and Cologne (Germany), among other places.

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Key takeawayRoman water supply in antiquity was a symbol of opulence and power, with aqueducts and irrigation channels being key elements in the countryside.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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References

Citations

Guardians of the aquifers: ehancing Rome’s groundwater monitoring network

This paper proposes a mobile-based groundwater monitoring method that can expand Rome's active well network and enable climate change adaptation measures.

Ancient spring waters still emerging and accessible in the Roman Forum area: Chemical–physical and microbiological characterization

Ancient spring waters in the Roman Forum area are non-potable, but their chemical-physical and microbiological characterizations help exclude infiltrations from the water and sewage networks.

Hydraulic Approach into Olden Agricultural Aqueducts at the Mexican Region of Zacatecas

Roman engineering and Spanish colonial construction methods can be compared to evaluate the hydraulic design of ancient agricultural aqueducts in Zacatecas, Mexico.

Cardinal Numbers: Changing Patterns of Malaria and Mortality in Rome, 494–1850

Malaria in Rome declined due to population growth, not climate change, with northern Europeans being more vulnerable than Italians and Greeks, and Iberian visitors being more susceptible than Italians.

River Systems and the Anthropocene: A Late Pleistocene and Holocene Timeline for Human Influence

Human influence on rivers has varied and intensely shaped their history, with six key stages identified in the Near East, and should be considered in interpreting Late Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial archives.

The “Sete Fontes” groundwater system (Braga, NW Portugal): historical milestones and urban assessment

The "Sete Fontes" groundwater system in Braga, Portugal, is a sustainable resource suitable for human consumption and non-potable uses, and can serve as a backup solution in case of main delivery system failure due to scarcity or catastrophe.

Spring waters and the birth of a civilization, sacred waters of Roman Forum, physical chemical analysis of the sources in the III millennium, preliminary measurements

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