In the Beginning
In the beginning, there was thirst. And very few people, in Rome too.
But lets start before the beginning of the impressive Roman aqueducts. Lets start where the Romans got their ideas and basically everything else (because no one steals like the Romans). That's right, I'm saying the Greeks.
The Greeks had previously built channels to transport water, the only difference being that they built them underground. They did so well, and had many of these channels spouting water to reservoirs and other places of necessity.
Liking the idea, Appius Claudius, the then dictator of the small cluster of people that was Rome proper in 312 B.C., decided to employ the method as well, fearing contamination from foreign enemies.
Using special tools, which will be discussed later so hold on to your togae, and after almost two years or working hard out in the sun, the completion of the aqueduct had been done, and had been named Aqua Appia.
The aqueduct was roofed on the inside as well, preventing the fears of Appius Claudius from coming true (he later rolled in his grave when the aqueducts were constructed using precisely measured lead.)
But lets start before the beginning of the impressive Roman aqueducts. Lets start where the Romans got their ideas and basically everything else (because no one steals like the Romans). That's right, I'm saying the Greeks.
The Greeks had previously built channels to transport water, the only difference being that they built them underground. They did so well, and had many of these channels spouting water to reservoirs and other places of necessity.
Liking the idea, Appius Claudius, the then dictator of the small cluster of people that was Rome proper in 312 B.C., decided to employ the method as well, fearing contamination from foreign enemies.
Using special tools, which will be discussed later so hold on to your togae, and after almost two years or working hard out in the sun, the completion of the aqueduct had been done, and had been named Aqua Appia.
The aqueduct was roofed on the inside as well, preventing the fears of Appius Claudius from coming true (he later rolled in his grave when the aqueducts were constructed using precisely measured lead.)
An example of what the beautiful inside of a Roman aqueduct looks like (not Aqua Appia). Can't you just hear the 'awesome' reverberating off the walls?
The aqueduct covered seven miles of land, but since is sloped and curved along the land, the actual architecture itself was just over ten miles long. This great piece of architecture provided 19,710,000 cubic meters of water a year to the growing populous. That's 54,750 cubic meters of water a day.
Having provided its citizens with ample drinking water, and giving their wells and tiny lil' brooks a break, the Romans continued on with their lives, improving upon their methods of constructing aqueducts (we really need a different synonym for this, I am getting annoyed by having to type it over and over again) and populated rapidly and conquered quickly until: low and behold, the Roman Empire.
Having provided its citizens with ample drinking water, and giving their wells and tiny lil' brooks a break, the Romans continued on with their lives, improving upon their methods of constructing aqueducts (we really need a different synonym for this, I am getting annoyed by having to type it over and over again) and populated rapidly and conquered quickly until: low and behold, the Roman Empire.
Location, Location, Location
Not only was this spectacular piece of work done by our lovely Roman friends, it was located in Italy. it went underground all the way to Rome through Porta Maggiore and then emptied at Forum Boarium near the Tiber River.
This was done for obvious reasons. The first was that a slope was needed. despite how precious the Romans were, they could still only do so much, and thus needed gravity on their hands.
This was done for obvious reasons. The first was that a slope was needed. despite how precious the Romans were, they could still only do so much, and thus needed gravity on their hands.
"Wazzup home-dawg G-mister?" -said the Romans to the force of nature. The Romans were very chummy when they needed favors.
Anyhow, having gravity was one thing, but it was also a force of disaster. Too much of an incline would cause disastrous amounts of pressure and would cause the pipes to burst or break or some other unpleasant thing that the Romans could not have.
"Why you gotta be like that?" -said the Romans. They always thought gravity was a jerk.
Therefore, after careful consideration, they choice the specific sites to place their very important aqueduct.
Why? You Are Asking Me Why? REALLY?Why exactly was the Aqua Appia important?
Well, oh well, someone call a teacher cause someones about to get schooled (I'm sorry for my jokes.)
Well, on the one hand, the aqueduct provided water. Let that sink in (ba-dumpa-chh). Yes, that is correct, this channel brought water to the population of what would one day be Rome, one of the few civilizations of which the Western world is dictated by.
But more than bringing water, the Aqua Appia brought life to the people. Because the people of Rome were growing, their burden on the small wells and streams near to them was being heavily tolled. It wouldn't be odd if there was contamination in the water, since there was nearby cattle farming (albeit down stream). More and more people sharing few water supplies? Nope, that was far from sanitary. Thus, this channel that brought fresh drinking water wa something of utmost importance. Also, nice fresh water added to a population leads to a healthily growing population.
Not only that, but this was one of the first big projects that the Romans created. Imagine, the morale this must have brought to the people. And has it been mentioned that they built this when they were still at war? (Thus explaining the whole fear of poisoning.) Further, because of clean drinking water, the tides (ba-dumpa-chh) turned to favor the Romans, now that they could sanitize and clean wounds appropriately and not worry about further contaminating the wounds of their soldiers.
And what would have happened of the Romans hadn't built the Aqua Appia? Their whole civilization might have been at risk and collapsed sooner than allowed, causing that sphere of information to be of no use to us. And since most of our ways are directed from the Romans and a few others, it would not bide well.
So yes, the Aqua Appia was more than important. And this will be later re-iterated and gone into more detail so just. you. wait.
Well, on the one hand, the aqueduct provided water. Let that sink in (ba-dumpa-chh). Yes, that is correct, this channel brought water to the population of what would one day be Rome, one of the few civilizations of which the Western world is dictated by.
But more than bringing water, the Aqua Appia brought life to the people. Because the people of Rome were growing, their burden on the small wells and streams near to them was being heavily tolled. It wouldn't be odd if there was contamination in the water, since there was nearby cattle farming (albeit down stream). More and more people sharing few water supplies? Nope, that was far from sanitary. Thus, this channel that brought fresh drinking water wa something of utmost importance. Also, nice fresh water added to a population leads to a healthily growing population.
Not only that, but this was one of the first big projects that the Romans created. Imagine, the morale this must have brought to the people. And has it been mentioned that they built this when they were still at war? (Thus explaining the whole fear of poisoning.) Further, because of clean drinking water, the tides (ba-dumpa-chh) turned to favor the Romans, now that they could sanitize and clean wounds appropriately and not worry about further contaminating the wounds of their soldiers.
And what would have happened of the Romans hadn't built the Aqua Appia? Their whole civilization might have been at risk and collapsed sooner than allowed, causing that sphere of information to be of no use to us. And since most of our ways are directed from the Romans and a few others, it would not bide well.
So yes, the Aqua Appia was more than important. And this will be later re-iterated and gone into more detail so just. you. wait.
Move over Hanging Gardens of Babylon, we got ourselves a new favorite.