One of the most fundamental requirements for any town or city is an adequate supply of water. Providing this basic human need must be one of the principal concerns of urban planners, and water must be managed in two ways. First, water must be brought to the city in sufficient quantity and of sufficient purity to be drunk by the populace. In addition to water for drinking, a city consumes substantial amounts of water for several other basic functions, including cooking and cleaning. Second, and equally as important as bringing water to the city, are arrangements made for removing unwanted water, either because there is too much of it and there is a risk of flooding or because the water is contaminated by human use and poses a health hazard.
By any standards, ancient or modern, Rome was extraordinarily well supplied with the means both to bring water to the city and to take it away. By the early fourth century ad, Rome was being supplied by over a dozen aqueducts, which collectively were capable of bringing more than a million cubic meters of fresh water to the city every day. This bounty was distributed to the populace through a complex network of pipes and tanks that delivered the water to nearly 1,500 public fountains and pools and almost 900 public and private baths. This system was overseen by a high-ranking state official who supervised a large staff of specialists, including engineers, and the system was maintained by 700 well-trained slaves organized into several divisions.
Much of our knowledge of the Roman water supply system comes from a book called De Aquis Urbis Romae (About the Waters of the City of Rome), which was written by Sextus Julius Frontinus around ad 98. Frontinus was a career administrator who moved through a succession of important posts in the Roman government, including praetor, consul, and governor of Britain. In ad 97, he was appointed the curator aquarum, which was the top official charged with overseeing the water supply of the city, and in connection with this office he wrote his book, which he hoped would prove useful to subsequent curatores.
The opening line of Frontinus's work succinctly sets the stage for the story of Rome's aqueducts; "For 441 years from the foundation of the city, the Romans were content with the use of the water which they took from the Tiber river, wells, and springs" (1.4). As a number of Roman writers noted, among them the famous orator Cicero, the site of Rome was naturally blessed with copious springs providing fresh water. At least 20 such springs lay within the ultimate walls of the city.
While these springs together with the Tiber provided adequate water for several hundred years, in 312 bc, the energetic censor Appius Claudius Caecus undertook construction of the first aqueduct to bring water from outside the city's borders. This first aqueduct, named the Aqua Appia after its builder, took its water from some springs about 25 kilometers outside the city. It had a capacity of approximately 75,000 cubic meters of water per day, which was delivered to the area around the Aventine hill. Contrary to the modern stereotype of Roman aqueducts as a series of tall, stone arches, this first aqueduct was located mostly underground. Later aqueducts would include some sections carried on impressive aboveground arches, but even in the fully developed system, the overall percentage of aqueducts that were on such arches was less than 10 percent.
The next aqueduct, built in 272 bc and called the Anio Vetus, was 64 kilometers long. It was constructed out of booty obtained from the Roman military victory over King Pyrrhus of Epirus and, like the Appia, was mostly an underground conduit. It had a capacity of around 180,000 cubic meters per day and, as its name suggests, drew its water from the Anio River. The Anio River valley was located to the east of Rome, and of the eventual 11 major aqueducts, no fewer than 9 of them would draw their water from this region, either from the Anio itself or from springs in the hills around it. The underground channels were pierced by openings at standard intervals, which provided both ventilation and access for workers to carry out repairs and to clean out mineral deposits that constricted the flow.
The third aqueduct, the Aqua Marcia, was constructed in 144 bc by Quintus Marcius Rex, after whom it was named. While the first two aqueducts were built by censors, Marcius was an urban praetor who was given a special commission by the Roman senate to undertake the work. It had a
Figure 3.1 Remains of the Aqua Marcia outside Rome. The majority of most Roman aqueducts were underground, but some portions were carried on above ground arcades such as these.
Capacity of 194,000 cubic meters per day. This aqueduct would achieve fame for four reasons. First, it supposedly provided the best drinking water. Ancient sources praise its purity and coolness, and its source was sprirtgs located in the upper Anio River valley. The emperor Nero had a villa near these springs, and he caused a scandal among the people of Rome when they learned that he had desecrated the purity of these waters by bathing in them. Second, it was the longest of all the aqueducts, stretching some 91 kilometers. Third, it was notable for the enormous amount of money necessary for its construction—180 million sesterces (the annual wage of a Roman legionary was 900 sesterces). The fourth notable aspect of the Aqua Marcia was that it was the first aqueduct to incorporate a long section that was elevated upon arches. The final stretch of the aqueduct before it entered the city was carried on such elevated arches, forming an impressive sight, and even today the remains of this stretch can be seen by passengers on the main train line heading south to Naples.
The fourth and final republican aqueduct was the Aqua Tepula, built in 125 BC by the censors. It was heavily rebuilt later, so exact statistics are uncertain, but it seems to have been about 17 kilometers long, carrying
18,000 cubic meters of water per day. Its name, unlike those of the earlier aqueducts, is not derived from its builder but rather is a description of the water itself. The Tepula's springs, which were located in the Alban hills, yielded unusually warm water, around 16 degrees Celsius.
World History
