Abstract
The aim of this paper is to present the evolution of aqueduct technologies through the millennia, from prehistoric to medieval times. These hydraulic works were used by several civilizations to collect water from springs and to transport it to settlements, sanctuaries and other targets. Several civilizations, in China and the Americas, developed water transport systems independently, and brought these to high levels of sophistication. For the Mediterranean civilizations, one of the salient characteristics of cultural development, since the Minoan Era (ca. 3200–1100 BC), is the architectural and hydraulic function of aqueducts used for the water supply in palaces and other settlements. The Minoan hydrologists and engineers were aware of some of the basic principles of water sciences and the construction and operation of aqueducts. These technologies were further developed by subsequent civilizations. Advanced aqueducts were constructed by the Hellenes and, especially, by the Romans, who dramatically increased the application scale of these structures, in order to provide the extended quantities of water necessary for the Roman lifestyle of frequent bathing. The ancient practices and techniques were not improved but survived through Byzantine and early medieval times. Later, the Ottomans adapted older techniques, reintroducing large-scale aqueducts to supply their emerging towns with adequate water for religious and social needs. The scientific approach to engineering matters during the Renaissance further improved aqueduct technology. Some of these improvements were apparently also implemented in Ottoman waterworks. Finally the industrial revolution established mechanized techniques in water acquisition. Water is a common need of mankind, and several ancient civilizations developed simple but practical techniques from which we can still learn. Their experience and knowledge could still play an important role for sustainable water supply, presently and in future, both in developed and developing countries.
Highlights
In this paper, the word aqueduct is used for an artificial structure at the surface or buried, which is constructed to convey water from a water source to a target for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use.The main focus of this paper is on surface aqueducts and not on underground ones.some details are provided on those underground aqueducts, which, in some parts of the world, are named qanats
Aqueduct construction in the Mediterranean reached an apex in the Roman Imperial Age, when hundreds of them were built in a time of great economic prosperity [48]
In Phyllida, in Eastern Macedonia, more than 18 qanats, of 35 to 4000 m long, are described by Vavliakis [84]. These hydraulic works were used for the water supply of villages and monasteries since ca. the 18th century AD, and most of them are still in operation today [85]
Summary
The word aqueduct is used for an artificial (man-made) structure (channel, canal, pipeline, inverted siphon, reservoir, and/or tunnel) at the surface or buried, which is constructed to convey water from a water source (surface or underground) to a target (town, villa, sanctuary) for domestic (e.g., fountains, bath houses, and toilets), agricultural, and industrial use (mines, watermills). In these urban centers, water sources included canals connected to rivers, rainwater harvesting systems, wells, aqueducts, and underground cisterns. The Indus Valley Civilization that developed along the banks of the Indus River, constructed extensive subterranean urban plumbing systems including drains and water pipes feeding baths. In the archaeological site of Tambomachay, near Cuzco, in the southern Peruvian highlands, water was discharged from a small opening (approximately 0.2 by 0.3 m) in the main retaining wall to a channel along the base of the wall This channel in turn empties to another stone lined channel that crosses the terrace and feeds a single as well as a double fountain [25]
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