And it was not mentioned that many aqueducts, perhaps most, did not use any mortar between the rocks that form its structure. I can attest this fact at least for the one in Segovia, which I visited several times. The individual pieces were cut with such precision that they fit perfectly and sustained themselves without any mortar in between. And they still stand 2000 years later. Amazing!!
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Yes, so true- same goes for Aqua Claudia in Rome!
@elainebmack Жыл бұрын
Extraordinary!
@moniquelee3623 Жыл бұрын
''I often think that the Romans were fortunate; their civilization reached as far as hot baths without touching the fatal knowledge of machinery.'' James Hilton
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
They made some incredible advances. We like to share insights on the civilization, for better and worse! Free lectures monthly (live) if you sign up for our newsletter at ancientromelive.org.
@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156 Жыл бұрын
As a land surveyor and a history geek, I am in absolute awe of what the ancient peoples accomplished with their tools. Human ingenuity knows no bounds. I would love to learn to use ancient Roman surveying equipment.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
There are some interesting experimental archaeology videos out there showing some of the equipment in use.
@JeremiahAlphonsus Жыл бұрын
They were superior, far superior, to modern man. Reject the myth of progress.
@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156 Жыл бұрын
@@JeremiahAlphonsus I find idealizing them is counter-productive when trying to understand them.
@AB-wf8ekАй бұрын
@JeremiahAlphonsus Are you kidding me? Did you not see the lead pipes? The bias is we are only seeing what's survived. You have no concept of the average Roman citizen (not to mention slaves) in comparison to modern people. The average Roman could have been much more biased and detached from reality than any modern individual, you'd never know.
@mikeifyouplease Жыл бұрын
How crazy wonderful that some of the Ancient Roman aqueducts are still in use TODAY!! And not only is that amazing, but historians and engineers don't have to guess and speculate on how the aqueducts worked and functioned because they can just walk over to the Ancient Roman aqueducts are are in operation...RIGHT NOW in the modern city of Rome!!
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Rome is a truly rich resource for the study of aqueducts. Bits and pieces of various lines are still being uncovered in a number of excavations. Truly astounding.
@grahamhodge8313 Жыл бұрын
Excellent video. I have visited the aqueducts in aqueduct park near the Appian Way and also canoed down the river beneath the Pont Du Gard and visited the museum there. The Romans were so far ahead of their time that it was many centuries before equivalent levels of technology were reinvented. Astounding stuff.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Two amazing adventures with aqueducts. We have a lot more to share - even in Rome- regarding the individual routes, so stay tuned!
@Xhosalion Жыл бұрын
Additionally there were holding tanks along the route of the aqueduct with sluice gates. An official lived nearby. His task was analogous to the railway gatekeeper at a crossing. His task was to change the size of the sluice gate in order to either reduce, or augment the flow of water so that it was at the optimum level within the water course. The ovoid shape of the water course was designed to prevent back currents and was dependent on the flow not being too strong, which could cause wall damage, or to weak, which would not allow an even distribution of sediment and thus cause build up and eventual blockages. He was also responsible for keeping the channels clear. When the Germanic tribes took over the Roman area, they neglected to pay for this official, causing a degradation of the whole aqueduct system both in reliability of water flow and structural integrity. (Source: the museum at Pont du Gard, Provence)
@andyroo9381 Жыл бұрын
I visited Madrid, Spain for one week. I made a daytrip to Segovia, just to see the aqueduct. It was so big, beautiful and amazing!
@antonboludo8886 Жыл бұрын
Same here.
@bluefairy9683Ай бұрын
Me too , after this trip 2 days ago i just came here to learn how the Romans can do this ! Completely astonishing
@user-bk3bp5yy7m8 ай бұрын
Probably the amount of lead exposure was reduced over time as the pipes were internally coated with calcium deposits
@ecamp6360 Жыл бұрын
As someone who worked at NYC's DEP (Water/Sewer Dept.) this was fascinating. Learned alot. A "duh!" point for me was when he said that the bridges that we consider "aqueducts" were ..."a [small] fraction..." of the whole system. As in NYC, most is underground. The High Bridge was our Roman "aqueduct.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience. It's fantastic to make those connections with the past!
@RTD3 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for making this video 1 month after returning from a 2 week exploration/vacation of Rome 😁. Roman aquaducts define the brilliance of Roman engineering, imho.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
We agree! Expect a couple more videos on specific aspects of aqueducts in Rome!
@gzee682011 ай бұрын
Playing AC Valhalla and every time I pass the aqueducts in North England, I wondered how they worked! This video explains it perfectly and really good for getting a sense of the immense scope of the project to bring water into the empire.
@kayfish7621 Жыл бұрын
Excellent lecture. It makes me curious how much the populace was affected by the lead pipes carrying water.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
thank you. Yes, we can devote more videos so such aspects of aqueducts (check our water in Rome playlist for 2 more videos on aqueducts). The lead quickly became lined with calcium (as it was spring water)- thereby keeping the water from directly touching the lead. The water never "sat" in the pipes. It was always flowing. Today, we can look at the US and note that lead pipes are still frequently in use (but the water "sits" in those pipes!): "NRDC estimates that there is a range of 9.7 million to 12.8 million pipes that are, or may be, lead, spread across all 50 states". www.nrdc.org/resources/lead-pipes-are-widespread-and-used-every-state. It's not just a Roman issue- but one that is still a concern today!
@Dave-ro3nj Жыл бұрын
@@AncientRomeLive Smarter then than now.
@LeePenn2492 Жыл бұрын
Interesting and informative..years ahead of their time .
@silverchairsg Жыл бұрын
4:22 It's really cool to see the groma immortalized in the inscription.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
That was a special treat to see it- there are actually quite a few! But panning up / zooming in (and pairing it with the reconstruction version) was a fun way to underline its importance.
@WalkingToursVlog Жыл бұрын
Amazing & beautiful video! 👍😍 Respect to the author! 🏆 Thanks for sharing! 🤝
@edithcallaway4316 Жыл бұрын
A 'Plumber' the Roman name for a worker of Lead, the chemical symbol of lead is Pb, hence The name of the Tradesman 'Plumber'
@T2BillionАй бұрын
I really enjoyed this video! Hats off! 👍🏽
@johnrobinson4445 Жыл бұрын
Really great topic. 8.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Thank you! 10😊
@mikeifyouplease Жыл бұрын
If you ever get a chance to come to California, I would recommend a visit to the Spanish Mission in the city of Lompoc. While no where as magnificent as the aqueducts of Ancient Rome, it does have its own mostly intact aqueduct system, from the water source of a small lake through a water-filter building to finally the public fountain that provided water for the residents of the mission. The aqueduct itself is a mere stone-encased ditch, you can leisurely walk from start to finish in a mere hour. It is also interesting that there are postings on the mission grounds, that stated that the designers of the system used the information gained from literature of the Ancient Rome engineers on how to design and construct such a water system. And finally, on an intriguing twist of history, it was the Native American Indians, who bathed daily in local streams, while the "civilized" Spaniards did not bathe for months on end and stank to high heaven.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing!
@user-ff7ji9ud6r10 ай бұрын
this video was insane it helped a lot for my socsil studies project every other video was trash i wanted to through my chromebook in the garbage because they sucked so much but this video actually helped merci beaucoup-mr -spencer
@MB-nn3jw Жыл бұрын
The Romans were excellent engineers, but in particular, their hydro engineering was unsurpassed in my limited opinion.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Hard to beat! Sure there are qanats and aqueducts of the Greeks- but the ubiquity of the aqueducts throughout the Roman Empire is truly amazing.
@HansDunkelberg1 Жыл бұрын
Yes, their hydro engineering will have been outstanding for their time - but only for their time. They were not aware of the necessity to allow some stretching and contracting of the conduits due to the shrinking and lengthening caused by temperature changes, or at least had no means of counteracting this problem. The result was, according to L. Sprague de Camp, a constant leaking of the aqueducts, with sinter terraces forming where the water got out.
@EllieMaes-Grandad Жыл бұрын
@@HansDunkelberg1 Not to mention the theft of water at various points along the channels . . .
@HansDunkelberg1 Жыл бұрын
@@EllieMaes-Grandad Yes, L. Sprague de Camp mentions the thefts too, but such a problem won't reduce the level of the technological achievement. Perhaps it can prove that Roman technologies of _law enforcement_ have been developed less astoundingly. Apart from this, I guess I remember that also such thieves have already used copper pipes and cranes.
@EllieMaes-Grandad Жыл бұрын
@@HansDunkelberg1 The level of technological achievement is impressively high - nobody else in antiquity was even remotely as competent. PS you didn't mention syphons for crossing valleys . . .
@ildianci Жыл бұрын
Amazing! Thank you very much, very informative video!
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@marthaarya167 Жыл бұрын
great explanations
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@denizalgazi Жыл бұрын
Fascinating subject! 👍
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
thank you- please note we have 2 other Aqueduct videos. And subscribe to ancientromelive.org newsletter for links to free seminars.
@flamencoprof Жыл бұрын
Excellent stuff. I am disappointed in myself for not thinking of trying to see the workings you showed of that aqueduct in Segovia when I was there.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Such a great aqueduct line!
@bluefairy9683Ай бұрын
Pls you should go , I am completely shocked by it !
@flamencoprofАй бұрын
@@bluefairy9683 I am now too old and can't/shouldn't afford to go back.
@DennisCamblyКүн бұрын
There is/was a video on KZfaq that shows how the aqueducts were built. Rather amazing considering some of them were 30-40 kilometers from Rome. It was all gravity driven.
@markusdylewski759211 ай бұрын
Uwazam pana kanal za najlepswzy w tematyce antycznego Rzymu.Pozdrawiam.
@jarrodreaves243 Жыл бұрын
Love the vid bro keep em coming
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
thanks, man. We are on a roll- just need to get the word out. Thanks for sharing!
@bruceburns16728 ай бұрын
Modern Britain today should take note of the Roman Empire, Britain sees itself today as part of the modern world, but sadly their industrial base has collapsed which used to finance the modern economy hence like America as well they now are at the borrowing stage to continue giving themselves the modern economy which they feel they are entitled too, they should all look to what happened to ancient Rome and think twice and get back to work and produce the wealth necessary to finance a modern state or become like Rome .
@johnmcnulty4425 Жыл бұрын
I wonder what the impact on the water table and the surrounding countryside was from diverting away so much water?
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Great question. Luckily, Italy is rich in springs (main source for the aqueducts).
@lesliejamespayne3942 Жыл бұрын
They probably originated from a Reservoir or Lake, below the Snow line/levels?
@chrisbelsito4231 Жыл бұрын
Absolutely amazing!!! Just blows my mind
@Kayla-ep5gm Жыл бұрын
Great video! Still think it’s amazing that trams in Rome pass right under the aqueducts at Porta Maggiore in Rome! What would happen if one of them had a blockage or sprung a leak?
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Such an amazing transport zone! The area deserves more respect! If any problems, a given line was stopped at the source for maintenance- workers then entered the empty channel to repair the problem.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Such an amazing transport zone! The area deserves more respect! If any problems, a given line was stopped at the source for maintenance- workers then entered the empty channel to repair the problem.
@SW-11 Жыл бұрын
Interesting that 1:200 is used today for gravity sewers (at least where I live). Great video. Thanks!
@SW-11 Жыл бұрын
As are settlement chambers to remove debris. Amazing.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@who9387 Жыл бұрын
How did they work ? Water always runs downhill, SIMPLES What was ther function ? They bdelivered water from A to B
@ingemarolson3240 Жыл бұрын
Did I interpret the calcium deposits inside the specus correctly? It looked like they narrowed the channel down to less than half its original width. Was that typical?
@mikeifyouplease Жыл бұрын
Great question!
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
The calcium deposits varied per individual channel- aqueduct source. Frontinus writes about cleaning the channels. We know this was done, but not the frequency. Accretions- of various levels- are visible in Rome. The Pont du Gard example is really extreme. Famously, its slope is very slight, which would have had a negative effect.
@EllieMaes-Grandad Жыл бұрын
@@AncientRomeLive I walked in that [dry] PdeG channel over thirty years ago; not a lot of calcium was visible, but then I wasn't looking for it . . .
@heinrichmuller797426 күн бұрын
i've always wondered what the effect of drinking water through lead pipes had on the Roman populace?
@BoomVang Жыл бұрын
Vitruvius also wrote an essay deducing that lead pipes were unhealthy
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Yes there are so many more aspects of aqueducts we will cover- more on Vitruvius and Frontinus.
@benjeanettebooth1800 Жыл бұрын
There is a very well preserved aqueduct in Nimes, a Roman city in southern France.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Yes, we looked at its castellum aquae at 7:50.
@joedoe-sedoe7977 Жыл бұрын
Traveling such great distance at relatively low volume and velocity, one wonders why it didnt evaporate on a hot day before it reached Rome
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
covered channels!
@user-ff7ji9ud6r10 ай бұрын
i subed
@southpaw81686 ай бұрын
well made video!
@Allannah_Of_Rome Жыл бұрын
The Romans also used lead because it was a soft metal and easier to fashion into pipes at the time!
@tony80748 ай бұрын
The Roman aqueduct system was not matched until the Victorian Era.
@bluefairy9683Ай бұрын
I am shocked when i was there Segovia to see it
@genghisthegreat203411 ай бұрын
It works by Manning's Law....an Irish engineer. But the Romans knew instinctively, the right trade off between gradient, wetted perimeter, roughness factor....and laminar openchannel flow
@mikeifyouplease Жыл бұрын
Your voice sounds A LITTLE like Manuel Bravo, who also creates great videos about Ancient Rome. Perhaps you two should collaborate on future projects, if you haven't already.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Ah ha! Just you wait! We admire his work!
@TheDavidlloydjones Жыл бұрын
Hod id they work? Gravity. Thank you for asking. Next question, please...
@HansDunkelberg1 Жыл бұрын
Perhaps the Pont du Gard is filled with unusually much calcium residue because it has been used especially long. I think I've read about a use of it until the days of Charlemagne, around AD 800. Perhaps the slaves, who have been of a considerable influence among the Christians, have stopped cleansing the bridge's conduit in the later times.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
The gradient flow was extremely low. A famous aspect of this channel.
@HansDunkelberg1 Жыл бұрын
@@AncientRomeLive That sounds plausible. Still, also with an especially quick accumulation of residue it should have been possible to clean the thing up. And perhaps neglect has been stronger at such a remote place than with the also long-used Aqua Virgo close to the city of Rome.
@EllieMaes-Grandad Жыл бұрын
'Soft' water is low in calcium, so it will depend on sources themselves and the ground over which the water travelled.
@HansDunkelberg1 Жыл бұрын
@@EllieMaes-Grandad I do not really understand what you mean.
@EllieMaes-Grandad Жыл бұрын
@@HansDunkelberg1 Hard water, soft water - look up calcium deposits in kettles . . .
@snotnosewilly99 Жыл бұрын
The Aqueduct at 0:22 appears to be made from concrete, with a facing of stone.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Yes, that portion - in concrete- was "blobbed" onto- as a further stabilizer- the previously existing tuff block construction of the Aqua Claudia.
@rlccar85184 ай бұрын
-10 points for use of "iconic" (sorry had to be said 😄) BUT! Very nice video. I especially liked the part about the equipment used for measuring.
@leonardothefabulous3490 Жыл бұрын
Nice job. One question; how did they measure elevation-to know what sources were higher than Rome-many tiles away?
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
We agree!
@leonardothefabulous3490 Жыл бұрын
@@AncientRomeLive Actually, I was asking a question.
@j.macmillan229311 ай бұрын
312 BCE.. kilometres.. Any aqueducts still functioning?
@LevelUpTrivia111 ай бұрын
So did the water run over the top or underground
@c-historia Жыл бұрын
meraviglioso!
@MySamurai77 Жыл бұрын
Maybe lead isn't the best choice to pipe you water.
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Haha- but as noted, it was coated in calcium- so lead poisoning wasn't an issue..
@MySamurai77 Жыл бұрын
@@AncientRomeLive Did they even know what lead poisoning was back then i wonder?
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
@@MySamurai77 Yes, indeed. Vitruvius mentions this fact. It was well known that those that poured the molten lead into sheets to be rolled and soldered into pipes got sick from the fumes.
@hardsums328 ай бұрын
First, we like your programs very much, but the Roman's did not have decimal or percentages. They used ratio's, as we did ourselves until recently. so we all understand ratio's. Kilometers are also a pain.
@SIMpip3743 ай бұрын
lol kilometres are only a pain for Americans, the rest of the world, not so much! You all need to buck up and use measurements the rest of the world uses. 😉
@hardsums323 ай бұрын
@@SIMpip374 The rest of the world are wrong.
@1962recon9 ай бұрын
The short answer is gravity.
@saelind73 Жыл бұрын
Is this Dario? 😀
@matacabrones4317 Жыл бұрын
the "groma" was nothing more than a ceremonial instrument. The "chorobates" had only one central leg. And you didn't talk at all about siphons, widely used by the romans to cross valleys, much more numerous and cheaper than aqueduct arcs
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Not sure about it only being ceremonial... Yes, there is more to discuss on aqueducts- including the siphon systems.. In the next in the series!
@matacabrones4317 Жыл бұрын
@@AncientRomeLive yes, it was ceremonial, only used to trace the Cardus and Decumanus kzfaq.info/get/bejne/np13gaR1sLWnZWg.html kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rKtya5Cm1d6VqKc.html
@jacksonmeyer-vl2np Жыл бұрын
wow!
@escapematrixenterprisejacq7810Ай бұрын
AGUA APPIA????? Its ACQUA
@eastcoastsailingcenter7768 Жыл бұрын
Aliens built it .. graham hancock
@johnperkins71113 ай бұрын
Short story gravity.
@chomocharlie3997 Жыл бұрын
8:24, Did the Romans suffer lead poisoning?
@EllieMaes-Grandad Жыл бұрын
I've seen mention in literature that they did. Presumably determined from bone analysis of skeletons, not that they'd have known much about the problem back then.
@fabiana.464011 ай бұрын
They probably suffered much more lead poisoning by the use of adding lead acetate to wine than from the plumbing system
@ChristopherLeckyАй бұрын
What they achieved isn't as significant as the realisation of the variables of that solution which should have been what we continued to explore being that variation creates the necessary complexity within our solutions to ensure longevity sustainability and the overall stability of our civilisation.....! in other words lean to heavily on any one option and what ever long term effects or consequences occur are maximised by our population density and future population predictions crippling the planets ability to sequester the impact of our dominance.,,, ,FACT
@wadevictor Жыл бұрын
Fascinating so it was against the law to expose rubbish to the water where did the waste go obvious a lasting system would have been in place👁️👁️
@Blackadder75 Жыл бұрын
the romans also had the cloaca maxima. aka the big sewer. it would collect the waste water and I guess dump it in the river
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
For Rome, the gravity flow system concluded with the Tiber. For each city it was different, but culminating with a river was pretty standard. Otherwise, the sea.
@N.SaiSriram Жыл бұрын
👍
@petrusinvictus3603 Жыл бұрын
Sorry, wrong video.
@zacharyhinschberger2414 Жыл бұрын
Simply amazing. The time and effort they put into everything with the intent for it to last forever! So I'm assuming lead poisoning for many people though with the piping??
@Slo-ryde Жыл бұрын
These are majestic structures, but they were also easy targets for the barbarians invading the empire, and surrounding a city fed by aqueducts… all they had to do is dislodge the flow by busting up the conduit in a small place….. and viola, no water for the town!!!
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Exactly! They were made when Rome provided the security!
@cjyoung4080 Жыл бұрын
yummy. Lead water.
@photographedemode Жыл бұрын
🙏
@AncientRomeLive Жыл бұрын
Thank you! We have 2 more videos on aqueducts!
@peterjohnson617 Жыл бұрын
gravity
@golgumbazguide...4113 Жыл бұрын
Explore
@jamesgrossman9955 Жыл бұрын
Gravity!
@2cartalkers Жыл бұрын
Gravity.
@user-ff7ji9ud6r10 ай бұрын
i love u ❤❤❤❤❤❤
@user-bt9xd7ix3p Жыл бұрын
Интересно узнать как древние узнавали или вичесляли пад водяного столба ??? ... Ау-у-у-у-у-у, гидроинженьори-и-и-и-и !!! ...
@benquinneyiii7941 Жыл бұрын
Buildup
@oreilly1237878 Жыл бұрын
But they arent Roman.They come from their predecessors.
@gbae636 Жыл бұрын
What??
@IrishCinnsealach Жыл бұрын
The first aqueduct was built in 312 BC, and supplied a water fountain at the city's cattle market. By the 3rd century AD, the city had eleven aqueducts, sustaining a population of over a million in a water-extravagant economy; most of the water supplied the city's many public baths