Aquaeductus
A tunneled structure that routed water over long distances
An aqueduct (plural “aqueducts,” Latin aquaeductus/aquaeducti) is an architectural structure designed to channel water from a natural freshwater source to a city or town. The Latin term aquaeductus literally means “a leading of water,” but the term came to refer to the massive architectural structures that supplied water to the Roman world (Matthews, 1970). Aqueducts supplied water to Rome for balneae and thermae (local and imperial baths), latrinae (public toilets), fontes (fountains), domus (individual homes), and all other facilities that used running water. While the Greeks had little need for the massive aqueducts that dotted the Roman world, they did provide a blueprint for the Romans by designing underground channels through which water could be directed. This design was employed in the construction of Rome’s first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, which was commissioned by the censor Claudius Appius in 312 BCE. The Aqua Appia was built underground primarily for practical purposes: Rome at this time was still a small city-state off the Tiber with only a few colonies outside of the main city, and this meant Rome itself was vulnerable to attacks from enemies both in Italy and beyond. Water had to be carried across the countryside from its source to supply the city, and having this aqueduct exposed could leave their water supply vulnerable to attack (Matthews, 1970). To avoid this issue, all 16,472 meters of the aqueduct that ran outside the walls of Rome were tunneled underground, with only the last 90 meters of aqueduct exposed once inside the city. While the Aqua Appia would not supply enough water to service the entire city of Rome, later aqueducts were built to service the ever growing need for water in the city. Literary and archaeological evidence suggest there may have been around fourteen total aqueducts that supplied water to the ancient city of Rome, though some of these may have been additions that branched off from previous aqueducts, such as the Aqua Septimiana (Murray, 1875). Numerous aqueducts still stand today, such as the famous Pont du Gard in Nimes, France, which was built by the Romans in the first century CE. Some aqueducts in Italy and elsewhere in Europe are even still in use today. While early aqueducts like the Aqua Appia were built underground as a safety measure, this need was lessened over time as the Roman empire expanded and came to dominate much of Europe and the Mediterranean. Later aqueducts, like the Pont du Gard in France, were built above ground and came to be known for their great imposing stone structures and impressive arches.
Bibliography
Latin Dictionary Entry
Aquaeductus - Perseus Digital Library
Jay Brodzeller, 2022