Review of Frontinus’ legacy by Deane R. Blackman and A. Trevor Hodge

Abstract

Frontinus’ de aquis urbis Romae is one of the few antique writings that describes Roman culture by the element that allows for the survival of humans and that is today still vital for any human culture: water. To state right from the beginning: this work does not directly address the modern hydraulic engineer, although the first author is a professor of mechanical engineering; whereas, the second is a professor of classics. This book may be considered an addition to each engineer’s background in terms of historical development, not only of water related sciences but also of construction materials, surveying, and management of a construction site, among other items that are of importance within a large engineering scheme. The aqueducts set-up by the Romans count among the largest and the most spectacular civil engineering works during their rule, in contrast to pyramids that have been described as useless monuments. Given that the Roman Empire spanned the Mediterranean under meteorological conditions that made water a vital resource not only as a drinking water supply but also for irrigation, these aqueducts, along with the road system, were a prime need for Roman infrastructure and certainly were among the most significant issues for the success of a political system that lasted more than 5 centuries. It took almost 2,000 years until the significance of the water supply and water disposal were realized as a prime issue of modern culture. Too many centuries passed before water had attained its rightful place in a modern society. The book contains 12 chapters: ‘‘Introduction’’; ‘‘The geometry of the calices’’; ‘‘The quinaria’’; ‘‘Planning’’; ‘‘Roman levelling and the new river’’; ‘‘Project resources and management’’; ‘‘Aqueduct building: Financing and costs’’; ‘‘Maintenance’’; ‘‘Excursus on Calx’’; ‘‘Urban distribution’’; ‘‘Reappraising Frontinus’’; and ‘‘Epilogue.’’ From a present day engineering standpoint, the problem of surveying an aqueduct may not seem so complicated as it was in ancient times. How could water be transported over long distances using only gravity? Italy is, as every tourist notices, a mountainous country that suffers from earthquakes. Leveling an aqueduct over tens of kilometers with slopes close to one-half a percent was a work of art. It involved tunneling and bridges to circumvent hills and valleys; one tunnel was almost 6 km long. The Pont du Gard aqueduct in southern France is but one that is known widely, but Romans were masters not only in the organization of political power but also in the development of infrastructure. Other aspects discussed in the book are the funding of aqueducts, which was done not necessarily by the state but also involved private persons, the maintenance of these works that stopped shortly after the Roman Empire came to its end, and the methods of construction that were applied both