104 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
104 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
<!-- factbase:dcee65 -->
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# Roman Aqueducts
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## Overview
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Roman aqueducts were engineering marvels that transported water over long distances using gravity, supplying cities with fresh water for drinking, bathing, and sanitation. Rome alone had 11 aqueducts delivering ~1 million cubic meters daily. Across the empire, Romans built over 200 aqueducts supplying cities from Britain to Mesopotamia. [^3]
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## Key Facts
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- First Roman aqueduct: Aqua Appia (312 BCE) @t[=312 BCE]
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- Total aqueducts serving Rome: 11 (by 226 CE) @t[312 BCE..226 CE]
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- Combined length: ~500 km (mostly underground) @t[312 BCE..226 CE]
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- Daily water delivery to Rome: ~1 million cubic meters [^1]
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- Last aqueduct built for Rome: Aqua Alexandrina (226 CE) @t[=226 CE]
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## Engineering
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- Gravity-fed: Maintained a consistent gradient (~1:200 to 1:4800) @t[312 BCE..476 CE]
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- Mostly underground channels; iconic arched bridges were only ~5% of total length
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- Used *opus caementicium* (Roman concrete) and lead pipes (*fistulae*)
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- Settling tanks and distribution castella regulated flow
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- Water also supported mining operations, milling, farms, and gardens [^3]
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## Notable Aqueducts
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- Aqua Appia (312 BCE): First aqueduct, built by Appius Claudius Caecus @t[=312 BCE] [^1]
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- Aqua Marcia (144 BCE): Longest serving Rome at ~91 km @t[=144 BCE] [^1]
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- Aqua Claudia (52 CE): Begun by Caligula (38 CE), completed by Claudius; ~69 km long @t[38 CE..52 CE] [^3]
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- Pont du Gard (France, ~19 BCE): Three-tiered bridge, 49 m high @t[~19 BCE] [^2]
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- Aqueduct of Segovia (Spain, late 1st–early 2nd century CE): Still standing; date debated — Géza Alföldy's reading of the dedication plaque suggests ~98 CE (Domitian), while a 2016 coin find points to 112–116 CE (Trajan/Hadrian) @t[~98 CE..116 CE] [^4]
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- Aqua Alexandrina (226 CE): Last of Rome's 11 aqueducts @t[=226 CE] [^3]
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---
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[^1]: Frontinus, *De Aquaeductu Urbis Romae* (~97 CE)
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[^2]: Hodge, A.T. *Roman Aqueducts and Water Supply* (2002)
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[^3]: Wikipedia, "Roman aqueduct" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_aqueduct
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[^4]: El País, "Age of Segovia aqueduct revised after discovery of ancient coin" (2016) — https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/11/01/inenglish/1477997248_304960.html
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---
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## Review Queue
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<!-- factbase:review -->
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Daily water delivery to Rome: ~1 million cubic meters [^1]" - when was this true?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Mostly underground channels; iconic arched bridges were only ~5% of total length" - when was this true?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Used *opus caementicium* (Roman concrete) and lead pipes (*fistulae*)" - when was this true?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Settling tanks and distribution castella regulated flow" - when was this true?
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Water also supported mining operations, milling, farms, and gardens [^3]" - when was this true?
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 9: Malformed temporal tag @t[-312..226 CE] — see docs for valid syntax
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: Malformed temporal tag @t[-312..226 CE] — see docs for valid syntax
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: Malformed temporal tag @t[=226 CE] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 15: Malformed temporal tag @t[-312..476 CE] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: Malformed temporal tag @t[38 CE..52 CE] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 26: Malformed temporal tag @t[~98 CE..116 CE] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 27: Malformed temporal tag @t[=226 CE] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 8: "First Roman aqueduct: Aqua Appia (312 BCE) @t[=312 BCE]" - what is the source?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 9: "Total aqueducts serving Rome: 11 (by 226 CE) @t[312 BCE..226 CE]" - what is the source?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Combined length: ~500 km (mostly underground) @t[312 BCE..226 CE]" - what is the source?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Last aqueduct built for Rome: Aqua Alexandrina (226 CE) @t[=226 CE]" - what is the source?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 15: "Gravity-fed: Maintained a consistent gradient (~1:200 to 1:4800) @t[312 BCE....." - what is the source?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 16: "Mostly underground channels; iconic arched bridges were only ~5% of total length" - what is the source?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Used *opus caementicium* (Roman concrete) and lead pipes (*fistulae*)" - what is the source?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Settling tanks and distribution castella regulated flow" - what is the source?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 25: "Pont du Gard (France, ~19 BCE): Three-tiered bridge, 49 m high @t[~19 BCE] [^2]" - Hodge source from 2002 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 26: "Aqueduct of Segovia (Spain, late 1st–early 2nd century CE): Still standing;..." - El País source from 2016 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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