Construction
King Sennacherib of Assyria builds several aqueducts to supply Nineveh, mostly in the form of open canals. The most remarkable carries water about 48 km (30 mi) to an artificial reservoir formed by damming the Tebitu River from another river, the Gomel. The canal is 19.8 m (65 ft) wide and at one point raised on corbeled arches 9.8 m (30 ft) for 274.3 m (900 ft) so it can cross a stream. The bottom of the canal is a 40-cm (16-in.) layer of concrete on a 2-cm (1-in.) layer of mastic (bitumen mixed with sand), with the concrete made from one part lime, two parts sand, and four parts aggregate. See also 1750 bce Food & agriculture; 522 bce Construction.
