Roman Aqueducts

The Roman aqueduct was a channel used to transport fresh water to highly populated areas. Aqueducts were amazing feats of engineering. Though earlier civilizations in Egypt and India also built aqueducts, the Romans improved on the structure and built an extensive and complex network across their territories.

Aqueducts were made from a series of pipes, tunnels, canals, and bridges. Gravity and the natural slope of the land allowed aqueducts to channel water from a freshwater source, such as a lake or spring, to a city. Across valleys, the Romans sometimes used siphons to carry the water in a steep lunge down one side of the valley and then a steep climb up the other.

The most recognizable feature of Roman aqueducts may be the bridges constructed using rounded stone arches. However, these bridged structures made up only a small portion of the hundreds of kilometers of aqueducts throughout the empire.

Unlike in Alexandria, Miriam and Judah enjoyed running water in their guest accommodations in Ephesus. Miriam guides us through their twelve-room villa to the kitchen and bathroom in “The Black Pearl,” a story in The Deadliest Returns:

On the far side, a kitchen with running water lay just beyond the latrine and bathtub . . . an unexpected luxury. . . .The public utility network in Ephesus provides internal running water from the Aqua Troessitica system of aqueducts and removes the wastewater from the latrines.

You don’t have to go to Ephesus to enjoy indoor plumbing, but a copy of The Deadliest Returns will get you there swiftly, safely, and inexpensively. Moreover, you can go back any number of times. To find out more, click here.