Roman Aqueduct Essay

The Aqueduct, while not an invention of the Romans, was made effective and marvels of the engineering world. Some of the techniques of the aqueducts are still used by modern engineers. Roman aqueducts were immense feats of engineering and architecture A Roman aqueduct was created using various tools and resources. The materials used were stone tiles and blocks, bricks, opus signinum (mortar that is used to waterproof the channels inside aqueducts) and a combination of lime and crushed ceramic. A roman aqueduct also required surveying equipment to map the landscape out and plan to create the straightest route to the distribution center. This included the groma and dioptra which both were the precursors to the modern theodolite. Chorobates were

This scaffolding would support the weight of the arches. Bricks and stones would be laid upon the top of the scaffolding. After all stones were placed the scaffolding was removed as the stones were now able to support their own weight. The workers would do this once or twice for each layer of arches. The bottom layer would contain the largest and longest of the arches and each layer would shrink the size of the arches. Most aqueducts only contained two of the aforementioned layers. At the bottom, large stone pillars were placed to bear the weight of the layers. They were much larger and stronger at the base. Of course this was just the visible portions of the aqueducts. The tunnels that often made up the larger portions were called specus and were built by first digging vertical tunnels called putei. The Putei were dug at intervals of approximately 230 feet. After these tunnels were dug the workers would begin digging the specus. Cranes were used to carry the excess dirt and lower the stone tiles that covered the tunnels walls, floors, and ceilings. Siphon pipes would be added to allow for the workers to divert bodies of water or create enough momentum for water to flow upwards. Siphon pipes were often made of lead reinforced with stone and ceramic, clay, or stone. After this the aqueduct was