What is an aqueduct in Rome. From the history of aqueducts. Further development of the aqueduct system

The amazing creations that people have created have decorated our planet for more than one millennium, and they have withstood the elements more than once. They inspire not only me, but also many artists and tourists. Aqueduct what is it? A structure that was created exclusively by people or did they use special equipment? This is exactly the topic we will discuss today.

Let us also pay attention to this structure. Of course, I am not an ancient Roman architect, or even an expert in the construction of such structures. However, I became interested in how, for example, such construction could be realized. Is this even feasible?

Aqueduct - what is it?

Perhaps, first let's pay attention to what is the starting point for any construction: the goal. Wikipedia tells us that ancient aqueducts were built to supply the city.

underground aqueduct - photo of a Roman underground aqueduct

This is how it was delivered (by gravity) to the city; an artificial channel was created for the flow of water.

To complete this task, builders had to have many knowledge and skills:

• good orientation in the area,
• know all groundwater,
• be able to measure not only the length, but also the elevation of relief points on the ground (find the correct solutions to high-altitude problems).

If you look at the existing buildings, you can come to the conclusion that the scientists and architects who lived in those days found the right decision assigned tasks, and their goal was achieved. To create the necessary slope for the water flow, it was necessary to find a place to lay tunnels, and where ravines did not form and the river bed changed, it was necessary to raise it above the terrain, building aqueducts for this purpose.

Do you think the Romans were the first to invent and build aqueducts? In fairness, it should be noted that such structures were erected even earlier by architects of the daytime east. But, if we take into account the scale of the projects, then no one could compare with the Romans.

An aqueduct is not the entire water supply system, it is only its above-ground part; the main architectural and construction secrets are hidden under water.

Ancient Rome and the famous Pont du Gard aqueduct

Let's take a closer look at the layout of the Roman aqueduct. The most seemingly impossible task was to carry water over the bed of the Gar River. For this purpose, an aqueduct was erected, the length of the lower tier of which was more than 140 meters. Have you ever seen the Pont du Gard? real life? If so, you certainly noticed that the soil at the site of its construction was rocky. Thanks to this, the structure was able to withstand heavy loads.

aqueduct photo

Today, before creating bridge projects, it is taken into account that in the future, due to floods, the usual water level may increase. Floods can happen once every hundred years, or even more often. Due to the fact that previously there was more water, then the task of ensuring her passage was in the first place. This is the reason why we can often see arches that cover almost all river floodplains.

Do you know why in ancient times arched structures were used for ceilings? I'm waiting for answers in the comments.

It seems to me that the materials from which the arches themselves were built in such structures work exclusively on compression. And the stone coped with such tasks perfectly. It was thanks to the arches that the aqueducts looked more elegant. In addition, the Pont du Gard aqueduct had many tiers, which not only makes its external characteristics more beautiful, but also adds stability to the entire structure.

Do you know what other buildings of the ancient Romans have no analogues in architecture? Of course, this is the Arc de Triomphe. The Romans erected arches to glorify and immortalize in stone the majestic victories of their rulers. Through their main passages, to the shouts of the jubilant people, the victors rode into the city in chariots, holding trophies in their hands, followed by captured prisoners.

Rostokinsky aqueduct

Do you think that in Moscow you can only go to Red Square or go for a walk at VDNKh? You are wrong! If you go to this city for the weekend, be sure to visit the Rostokinsky Aqueduct. The video of this Moscow attraction is below:

It is an architectural monument that preserves a two-hundred-year history; it is the only section of the Mytishchi water conduit that has been preserved today. Few people know that it was erected during the reign of Catherine II. Another name for the aqueduct is the Million Bridge? Why do you think? Everything ingenious is simple. More than a million rubles were spent on its construction from the state budget.

The aqueduct was named after the village of Rostokino of the same name, which translated means “bifurcated into several streams,” because all the villagers lived on two banks of the river.

Aqueducts of ancient Rome and the Aqueduct of Claudius

If the construction of aqueducts began in Rome, it is necessary to consider them in more detail. In ancient times, the urban population exceeded a million inhabitants, which is why an unresolved problem arose in supplying the city with water, which could be used not only for drinking and cooking, but also for other technical purposes. Here it is also necessary to pay attention to the desire of the city rulers to create a comfortable city for life; in those years, Roman thermal baths also became more popular. Naturally, it was possible to use water from a well, but due to the increase in consumption, it was necessary to figure out how to directly supply it from mountain sources.

The first Roman aqueduct was built already in the 4th century AD. and after a century more than 10 of them were built. After 2 centuries, the popular and world-famous Claudius aqueduct was built; at 27 meters high, it was significantly shorter than the old analogue of Marcius. Thus, it was possible to significantly reduce the distance (by 30 km) thanks to the creation of systems of tunnels and bridges.

Viaduct - what is it?

Preparing for this topic, I read a lot of literature, and found that in many sites these two words are used as synonyms, but this is rough lexical error, because this is identical to saying that an apple is a pear.

A viaduct is a bridge that connects two areas with identical landscape levels. Most often, such spans are laid through a river or other immediate depressions in a flat surface (for example, it could be a ravine or gorge).

An aqueduct is a water conduit (channel, pipe) for supplying water to a populated area. If we consider this term from the other side, it is part of a water conduit that has the shape of a bridge. The structures are similar in structure to viaducts, but they differ in that the former were used to supply water, and the others to create a road or railway tracks in their place.

Aqueduct bridge in Crimea

Don’t know where to go in the summer, to Sochi or Crimea? I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in Sevastopol there is a unique aqueduct, which is located directly on the Chernaya River near the village of Chernorechye. Have you ever been there? If not, be sure to add this place to your list.

The aqueduct was built in the nineteenth century; it became part of one of the few water pipelines. Its construction was initiated by Admiral M.P. , A design developments engineer Joni Upton took over. The aqueduct, which stretches for 12 meters, is made of limestone and external characteristics created in accordance with the style of ancient architectural structures, vaguely reminiscent of the drainage structures that were erected by the ancient Romans.

The aqueduct in Sevastopol is a picturesque structure that complements some spans with arched vaults of a semicircular shape, in the upper part there is a trench to supply water. The water pipeline performed its direct function for more than ten years, and then during the Crimean War it was half destroyed.

How do you feel about architectural structures? Are you surprised by their greatness, do you like to look at every detail, study history, seek the truth, or are you indifferent to this? I look forward to your comments.

Do I believe that aqueducts could be built by people without the use of additional technology? Probably yes, although reason proves that this is practically impossible. But there are moments when you still want to believe that the unreal may well become real. Sorry for the tautology, I think you understand what I wrote.

Thank you for your attention, I hope we have given a comprehensive answer to the question - what is an aqueduct! I invite everyone who was interested to subscribe to , many interesting things await us, we will discover the planet together!

Text— Agent Q.

These words belong to Sextus Julius Frontinus (late 1st - early 2nd century AD), a major statesman Ancient Rome, who was twice consul, fought successfully in Britain and in his old age received the title of “water warden.” Having taken such a high position, Frontin, who thoroughly studied all the technical and economic issues related to the construction and operation of water pipelines, wrote the book “Waterworks of the City of Rome”, which had great value not only in the era of the Roman Empire, but also in subsequent centuries. Many of the building elements in Roman aqueducts were made of concrete.
Water among the Greeks and Romans, as well as among many more ancient peoples, was considered something divine, one of the main elements of the universe. This belief probably came from the Middle East, where fresh water has always been of great value. There, in the Middle East, long before the emergence of the ancient Roman state, dams, dams and stone conduits were built to collect water. In the 7th century BC e. A large water pipeline 40 km long was built near ancient Nineveh. To transfer it across the river valley, the Assyrians built a stone bridge (aqueduct) with five vaulted arches, each with a span of 2.74 m. For 900 m, it was an open channel laid in an artificial stone bed, about 2.3 m wide. Perhaps it was one of the first aqueducts built by humans.
In Ancient Rome, water pipelines began to be built at the end of the 6th century. BC e. The first large aqueduct in Rome was built by Appius Claudius, the famous builder of the Appian Way. This event occurred in 312 BC. e., in the same year with the opening of the first strategic road. The relatively short pipeline, 16.5 km long, was mostly underground, starting outside the city from a spring in the quarries and ending at the Tiber, next to the harbor, where brisk contractors brought marble and granite blocks from Egypt. That's what they called him - Appian.
Most water pipelines, as well as temples, theaters, roads and other important and unique structures, received their name after their builders, or rather the people who financed the construction and were responsible for it. They were usually high-ranking state censors, praetors, aediles, and often consuls and the emperors themselves.
In 272 BC. e. a second water supply system was laid in Rome, which was completed two years later. It supplied the capital with water from the Anio River, located 70 km from the city.
Rome's water supply was hampered by the rugged terrain, as the city is located on seven hills surrounded by the flat territory of Campania. Water supply was carried out using water pipelines, which within the city were located on aqueducts - special structures in the form of bridges. The conduit ran over the top of the aqueduct and was a channel in the form of a trench made of stone, brick or concrete. When the water supply system approached the city, water towers were built, which in their operating principle were reminiscent of modern water pressure structures, although they differed from them in the distribution systems for water.
The third aqueduct in Rome - Aqua Marzia - was built in 44 BC. e. This hydraulic structure, unique for that time, served as a standard for later Roman construction. In the books of ancient Roman authors, the Marcia aqueduct is mentioned as a significant milestone in the great days of the Republic. Especially on the water supply route, the grandiose aqueduct stood out, rising almost 60 m above the level of the Tiber. The total length of the water pipeline reached 91.3 km, of which the above-ground part was 11.82 km, and the daily flow rate of supplied water was 200 thousand m3. It was built from beautiful natural stone by the hands of slaves - captured Greeks and Carthaginians.
Its culvert bed had a width of 1.37-1.68 m and a height of 2.44-2.75 m. Unfortunately, this water supply system with its wonderful aqueduct arcade has reached us in pitiful ruins, especially since the aqueduct itself has been destroyed several times. was rebuilt. So, 17 years after the completion of construction, the Tepula aqueduct was laid along it, and another 100 years later - the Julia aqueduct, where as building material Brick and concrete were already used.
During the time of Emperor Augustus, when large construction work began in the country, the emperor’s friend and son-in-law, the commander Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, became their leader. He is credited with the construction of many structures, including temples, baths and aqueducts.
According to Frontinus, Agrippa was the first curator of aqueducts. He trained his slaves in the “plumbing business” and created a special “water team” from them, which was later reorganized into the “water department.” At the end of the 1st century. the “water team” included many different specialists: hydraulic engineers, repairmen, and operational operators. It also included the so-called “villici” - managers, “castellarii” - observers of reservoirs and water towers, bridge inspectors, levelers, etc.
Some of them were constantly outside the city to conduct repair work, and some carried out their service at water towers and large fountains. For deliberate damage to the water supply network and connection without the permission of the magistrate to the city water supply system, a huge fine was imposed on the culprit. It is not for nothing that Frontin mentions “water thieves,” the so-called “drillers,” who secretly, at night, dug into culverts or canals and connected to them to draw water.
It is assumed that it was Agrippa, starting from 19 BC. e. was the curator of the construction of one of the most beautiful aqueducts in the world - Pont du Gard, located in the south of France. This aqueduct lay on the route of the Virgo water pipeline to the city of Nîmes, one of the southern cities of Galia, a Roman colony. Looking at this aqueduct, you are amazed at its beauty and majesty. It was built in the Gordon River valley and rests on a three-tiered stone arcade made of local golden-brown limestone. Huge blocks weighing up to 6 tons were hewn out of this stone, which were laid on top of each other without mortar, “dry”. Maximum height the aqueduct is 50 m long, 269 m long. It is assumed that the inside of the aqueduct supports is made of Roman concrete.
The conduit channel is blocked from above with stone slabs to avoid clogging and evaporation of water, as well as exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun, due to which, as Vitruvius warned, rapid growth of algae begins in the water. The water conduit has a rectangular cross-section made of stone, plastered inside with coarse-grained mortar with the addition of pozzolana.
A group of American scientists, based on detailed surveys of the main structural elements aqueduct of the Pont du Gard, came to the conclusion that Roman engineers almost 2000 years ago were able to calculate building structures using abaci and wax tables. At the same time, the Americans claim that many Roman structures were designed taking into account the so-called additional, i.e., possible future loads. It is difficult to agree with such a statement. Any calculation of a structure or material requires mandatory knowledge of the stresses that arise depending on various combinations of loads. Without this, it is impossible to calculate the building structure and assign the cross-section of all its elements. Only in the 20s of the XIX century. Henri Navier (1785-1836) was the first in the world to introduce the concept of “stress” and create a mathematical calculation tool for the strength of materials, which made it possible to solve most problems based on experimentally obtained permissible stresses. Until that moment, construction had developed mainly empirically, and even the brilliant works of Galileo, Hooke, Mariotte, Coulomb and other scientists of the 17th-18th centuries. only prepared the ground for the emergence of calculation methods.
It should not be forgotten that there were few structures similar to the Pont du Garou. Most of the others, including the Pantheon, were completely different from them in constructive terms. These were massive, heavy buildings with a large margin of safety, the stresses in which were 5-50 times less than the actual compressive and tensile strength of the materials used.
During the time of Emperor Claudius (41-45), another water supply system with a large stone aqueduct was built to supply Rome with water. According to a number of researchers, this was the last aqueduct made of natural stone. Subsequently, such structures were made only of concrete and brick.
Typically, part of the water supply route near and in the city itself passed above the surface of the earth, which was explained by the need for its distribution. The largest arcade of the aqueduct was the so-called arcade of the Palatine branch, built under Nero. It reached almost 20 m in height and consisted of more than 200 arches with a span of 7.75 m and a thickness of supporting pillars of 2.3-2.4 m. Almost all of it was made of concrete.
Water was distributed to individual houses and other buildings using water pipelines, mostly underground.
Water conduits were lead and ceramic pipes or trenches in the form of channels. Pipe sizes were strictly standardized and produced in specialized workshops.
Frontin developed standard water pipe sizes for 25 diameters, although only 15 were used.
According to Vitruvius, the largest lead pipe had a circumference of 100 inches (about 60 cm in diameter).
The bottoms and walls of the conduit channels were made either of concrete with a layer of plaster, or of stone, and the roof was made of flat stone slabs or slabs laid in two slopes. Since the time of Nero, canal coverings have generally been made in the form of a concrete barrel vault. The dimensions of the canal lumen were often made in such a way as to ensure that a person could walk through it without bending. The height of the section ranged from 1.5-3 m, and the width was 0.6-1.2 m.
In the 80-90s. To supply water to the Roman colony of Agrippina, from which Cologne later arose, an 80 km long water supply system was built. It is believed that it worked until 475. Its walls and base are made of concrete, and the vault, which is supposed to be made somewhat later than the canal, is rubble concrete masonry.
German researchers Gamblach and Grün claim that the binder for the concrete of this conduit was not aerated lime with the addition of trass, as was assumed before them, but highly hydraulic lime obtained from nearby limestone deposits in the Eifel region. In this case, brick dust was used as a hydraulic additive.
Subsequently in Cologne in the 2nd century. n. e. A 100 km long water pipeline was built. Bottom part its channel is made of concrete with mortar plaster, and the ceiling is made of natural stone, “set” on the mortar.
Interestingly, the Romans developed concrete pipes, which, according to modern experts, could withstand higher fluid pressures than ceramic or lead pipes. Their prototype was pipes made of natural stone with holes hollowed out in the middle part. The concrete pipes on the outside had square shape with a side size of 21 cm, and the internal diameter of the pipes was 6-8 cm. The pipes were made in the form of separate links about 95 cm long and connected to each other “joint to joint”, followed by caulking the joint with mortar and concrete. Such pipes were discovered by West German archaeologists in Tunisia, in the area of ​​Carthage and other places of the former Roman Empire.
In total, there were 11 water pipelines in Rome with a total length of more than 500 km. Water consumption in the city was about 561 thousand m3 per day. Rome was the most water-supplied city in the world. It contained about 500 liters per capita. Some scientists even believe that water consumption reached 800-1000 liters.

Aqueducts became important achievement ancient Roman engineers: thanks to the construction of these structures, the Romans managed to establish an ideal water supply system for cities that required large amounts of water.

An aqueduct is an irrigation canal running across roads and rivers: through such canals water was delivered to cities. If the aqueduct was laid on the surface of the earth, then the top was blocked in order to keep the water clean. Often along the path of such ancient pipelines there were ravines or pits: then architects worked to create durable and almost airy structures. Arched spans decorated and complemented the landscape. The arches were in several tiers: this helped make the structure especially stable.

The oldest water pipelines in the world are known - these are Egyptian and Middle Eastern structures that supplied water to the ancient states of Egypt and Nineveh.

Roman aqueducts: history

The most outstanding in terms of the grandeur of architectural thought and the complexity of their structures were the aqueducts of Ancient Rome. To this day, tourists can see on excursions some well-preserved water pipelines in European cities.

In the 6th century BC, the inhabitants of the million-strong city of Rome had an urgent need to build an aqueduct to supply drinking and industrial water to the city. The townspeople did not receive sufficient water; in addition, water was required to provide thermal baths and Roman saunas.

Aquia Apia became the first bridge with a length of 16 km. Next, the Romans built the aqueducts of Marcius and Claudius: they regularly supplied the city with water.

Famous ancient aqueducts

1. The 275-meter Garde aqueduct, located in one of the French provinces near large city Nima. The architects left an inscription on the wall of the structure, from which scientists were able to establish the approximate time of construction and the original height of the bridge - the aqueduct was higher than the famous Colosseum.

Masons, led by the son-in-law of Emperor Augustus, worked on the construction of the structure. The bridge with numerous arches was built from stone blocks: the weight of some of them reached 6 tons. This aqueduct supplied water from the Fontan del Ur river: despite the absence decorative elements The bridge is very functional and simple in design.

A long and durable aqueduct pulled water over a very complex terrain: the bridge architects were able to accurately calculate the load-bearing parts and arrange the arches according to the law of strict symmetry. The three-tier aqueduct consists of several rows of arches placed one above the other.

Among the surviving aqueducts of Ancient Rome, this one was intensively used for a long time as a highway, but due to the deterioration of the structure, the bridge was closed to traffic. Nowadays, car traffic is prohibited along the aqueduct - only pedestrians are allowed through.

A special highlight of the aqueduct is its unique construction method: large number stone blocks are held together only by the jeweler's adjustment of the stone. The design does not use cement or other fastening building components, but the blocks fit together flawlessly. On a block in the second tier, researchers found the name “Veranius” carved on stone - perhaps this name belongs to the architect of the bridge.

2. Among other aqueducts of Ancient Rome, the Carthaginian aqueduct is famous - now only ruins remain of it, but once it supplied water to the city from the rivers of the Tunisian Atlas. This powerful structure was 132 km long. Streams of water flowed naturally along the slopes of the terrain. The aqueduct itself was founded by the inhabitants of Carthage, and the construction was completed by the Romans. The structure was destroyed and rebuilt several times.

3. An ancient water bridge 30 meters high is located in the Spanish province of Segovia - it stretches for 17 kilometers. Nowadays, one of the preserved spans of the former bridge can be seen in the city center. The flow from this water supply was first directed into large tanks, then from the reservoirs the water flowed through other intra-city canals. The structure was destroyed by the Moors in the 11th century, but then the aqueduct was quickly restored.

4. Constantinople was a large and well-developed city, where there was also a great need for a supply of clean water. Even in the northern lands of Africa you can find the aqueducts of Ancient Rome - the Romans built social system water supply Nowadays, in the vicinity of Istanbul, tourists are still shown ruins - a small fragment of the building. This was one of the famous and powerful aqueducts - Valens, which was also reconstructed many times. The water supply was distinguished by a classic Roman style, the bridge was decorated with arches, from one of which the famous tourist route began - Ataturk Boulevard.

5. Ancient engineers were able not only to supply the city with water, but also to develop a successful moisture conservation system. There were more than 40 reservoirs in ancient Istanbul, some of which are still in operation.

Tourists travel to Istanbul to see a unique underground reservoir hall with 336 columns: this is the Basilica Cistern, located near the Temple of Sophia. The water storage facility took almost a quarter of a century to build, and this reservoir was used for more than 1000 years. Now it is a real museum of man-made wonders, attracting travelers from all over the world.

6. The aqueduct in Ephesus is also interesting - ancient city, in which the white marble temple of Artemis was erected. After the wars, the city found itself in the power of the Romans, who sought to improve all their plots. In Ephesus they built not only baths and libraries, schools and a theater, but also a water supply system with an aqueduct. The water pipeline was made of ceramic material and ran above and below ground. The water main was assembled from pipe sections connected to each other by functional raster connections.

Water pipelines of Ancient Rome

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The term "aqueduct" came to us from Latin language(aguae ductus) and translated means “leading water” (agua - water, duco - leading). What is an aqueduct in the modern Russian understanding? This is a structure for passing water flows at a considerable height through rough terrain, including obstacles of natural and man-made origin.

An aqueduct is used to provide water settlements, industrial production or agricultural land from an upland, distant water source. The principle of operation of an aqueduct is the free supply of water through a gutter, ditch, or pipe at a slight slope. Thus, physical laws are used that make it possible to move huge flows of water through artificially created channels without additional effort.

From the history of aqueducts

The history of aqueducts originates from the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians, who learned to build conduits to supply their homes with water by observing the natural flow of rivers - from a hill to a lower area.

Back in the 7th century BC. The Assyrians built a limestone aqueduct to provide water to their capital, Nineveh. The source was separated from the capital by a wide valley. The length of the conduit was 80 kilometers, and its three-hundred-meter section above the valley reached a ten-meter height.

History has preserved information about aqueducts that were built by the Mayan tribes and the ancient Greeks. The ancient Greek traveler, geographer and historian Herodotus praised the aqueduct on the island of Samos as one of the wonders of the world.

The aqueducts built by the ancient Romans differed significantly from the first structures in their technology; already in those days, water-resistant materials such as pozzolanic concrete were used for their construction.

The best architects took part in the construction of aqueducts, making complex, precise calculations. For example, the Pont du Gard aqueduct in Provence had a difference in height between source and destination of only 17 meters. Moreover, its total length was 50 kilometers, and for each kilometer the slope was only 34 centimeters. Such precision and the best construction technologies ensured that Roman aqueducts were successfully used for many centuries - even a thousand years after the collapse of the Roman Empire, aqueducts did not lose their technological significance.

In some cases, during the construction of aqueducts, the surface drop was over 50 meters. In order to ensure the free passage of water flow, the builders created an additional pressure conduit (drain). These technologies are still used today, when when laying water pipelines it is necessary to cross places with significant depressions.

Modern uses of aqueducts

IN modern understanding, the definition of what an aqueduct is is to describe a structure designed to move large flows of water above ground. Considering the high cost of constructing and maintaining aqueducts compared to underground water pipelines, today their construction is justified only in densely populated mountainous countries, mainly where laying an underground water pipeline is associated with certain difficulties.

However, a number of countries operate aqueducts designed to allow ships to pass over a riverbed or over a valley. These bridge structures allow the connection of canal systems that small vessels can pass through. Their construction began in the 17th century, and some of them are still successfully operating today.

The most famous modern water bridges for shipping are:

The Magdeburg navigable aqueduct (Germany, 2003) is 918 meters long, laid above the surface of the earth across the Elbe River and connecting the Elbe-Havel and Mitteland canals.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Wrexham (Great Britain, 1795-1805). The water bridge was built in the Dee Valley to connect the Denbighshire coal mines to the national shipping canals via the Ellesmere Canal.

Swing water bridge, Barton (UK). It was built on the River Irwell and was designed to carry the Bridgewater Canal across the Manchester Ship. The rotating aqueduct was built in 1894 and has no analogues in the whole world.

Chapter “Aqueducts” of the subsection “Architecture of the Roman Republic” of the section “Architecture of Ancient Rome” from the book “ General history architecture. Volume II. Architecture of the Ancient World (Greece and Rome)” edited by B.P. Mikhailova.

If bridges as a type of road structures are developing along with the development of transport further in all countries, then aqueducts, if we talk about their overhead structures, i.e. substructures and arcades are a typically Roman, and, moreover, exceptional phenomenon. Underground water pipelines in channels in pipes made of stone or ceramics were widely used both in ancient Greece both in the countries of the ancient East and in more late time. However, water canals made of concrete and stone, raised above the ground and placed on pillars with arches, appeared only among the Romans and, in essence, if we do not talk about restorations, were typical only for ancient Rome. Despite the fact that the Greeks already had pressure water pipes in pipes and even siphons, the Romans developed a type of gravitational water supply with a free mirror of the water flow, enclosed in a large rectangular channel, covered on top with a vaulted structure or a flat stone slab. The canal placed on the arcade was a serious engineering structure, reaching in some places up to 50 m in height (the Nemauza aqueduct, modern Nimes - Gardsky Bridge).

Aqueduct routes sometimes exceeded a hundred kilometers in length, and the oldest ones were almost entirely underground.

During the Republican era, four aqueducts were built in Rome: in 312 BC. - Aqua Appia, in 272 BC - Anio Vetus, in 144 BC - Aqua Marcia, in 125 BC - Aqua Tepula. The latter was radically redesigned during the time of Augustus. Among them, only the Marcius aqueduct had arcades, the remains of which remain to this day.

Each aqueduct consisted of a water intake system, a canal (specus) through which water flowed from the source to the city, settling tanks and a water distribution system within Rome, and finally, a water supply network of lead pipes supplying water directly to homes and consumers.

The oldest of the Roman aqueducts, Aqua Appia, was entirely underground and practically no different from the Greek ones. It had a relatively short length (16.617 km) and its channel was either cut out of the rock, or, if the soil was soft, a trench was dug in the ground, in which an artificial channel was made of stone slabs, covered on top with a stone vault, and on the inside with waterproof coating. Only a small section of the canal, about 90 m long, is raised on substructure.

Although the length of the second aqueduct - Anio Vetus - was much greater (63.7 km), the principles of its construction remained the same - only a very small part of the canal (400 m) was placed on substructure. A significant part of its length fell on the bends of the route, since the builders tried as much as possible to avoid the construction of bridges and tunnels.

Only more than 100 years later, the third Roman aqueduct was built - Aqua Marcia - one of the largest and most powerful aqueducts in Rome (Fig. 53). Its total length reached 91.3 km.

The Aqueduct of Marcius (144 BC) was both a technical and an architectural masterpiece. The water in it had a pleasant taste and purity, so it was intended, unlike the water of other aqueducts, only for drinking. The Marcius Aqueduct was built by the hands of an army of slaves taken from two newly destroyed cities - Corinth and Carthage. There is evidence to believe that Greek master builders and architects participated in the aqueduct project, as well as in its construction. This conclusion is suggested by the unusually finely developed system of proportions of arcades and bridges, where the use of the golden section is noticeable. The canal of the Marcius Aqueduct, emerging from the ground at a distance of 10 km from Rome, was placed on a stone arcade, in some places exceeding 10 m in height.

For the first time, such a significant part of the canal was raised on substructure, so water also flowed to the elevated parts of the city. In addition, the substructures themselves acquired a new character - a system of arches, previously used only for the construction of bridges, was used here for the first time. In the Aqueduct of Marcius, a constructive scheme for this type of structure was developed, which then spread throughout the Roman Empire. Creation so grandiose building(there were more than 1000 arches in the arcade near Rome alone) made it possible to perfect the designs and methods of constructing arcades, to find the most perfect proportions of individual arches and the arcade as a whole.

Compared to previous and subsequent aqueducts, the working technique here is the highest. The arcades and the channel itself are made of local strong tuff in regular square masonry. The above-ground parts of the canal, depending on the topography, had a different structure: 1) a canal laid on a solid wall (at the very exit from the ground); 2) a channel laid on a low arcade, where the heels of the arches lie directly on the foundation; 3) a channel placed on an arcade of medium height, with a total height of the structure of up to 8 m; 4) a channel placed on a high arcade, with a total height of the structure of up to 12 m; 5) a channel placed on special arches, above the intersection of roads, at the point of joining the city arcade, etc. The fourth option was typical.

With all the variety of arcade options, they are united by some general principles, creating a unified image of the entire structure. The most important of these principles is to clearly identify the design. Semicircular arches rest freely on the pillars and recede somewhat inward, which creates a clear boundary between the pillar and the arch. The protruding slabs of the canal bottom separate the canal itself from the arched structure that supports it. The entire structure is completed by another continuous strip of floor slabs.

In order for the aqueduct arcade, consisting of identical elements stretching for kilometers, to have not only engineering, but also artistic value, special attention was required to working out the proportions. A study of the proportions of the arcade of the Marcius Aqueduct shows that the proportionality of the entire structure was achieved both by introducing a module and by using the “golden section”. The channel width taken as a module is 0.76 m, i.e. 2.5 Roman feet. All other dimensions are multiples of it (both plan and façade). The same size was taken as the initial one for the “golden ratio”. The builders followed the rule of the “golden ratio” both in solving the details and in solving the main element of the arcade - the section, where this rule determined the ratio of the diameter of the arch to the width of the column, equal to 1: 0.618, giving harmony to the entire section. Unlike later aqueducts, in the arcade of Acqua Marzia one cannot yet see axial proportioning, i.e. dismemberment of the figure along the axes of the pillars. The unity of the figure, united by a circle with a radius of half the height, captures exactly two pillars and one span of the arch; at the same time this is the height of the entire arcade.

The arcade blended well with the landscape of the outskirts of Rome. The slight bends of the route, fluctuations in the lower elevations, inevitable with hilly terrain, and the rich greenery that served as the background created a very picturesque picture of the aqueduct. At the same time, a clear arcade stretching for kilometers gave the suburban landscape completeness, that spirit of civilized, “cultivated” nature that the Romans so valued.