How big were ancient roman aqueducts?

Answer 1

The Roman aqueducts brought water from the sources on the mountains to towns. Their length depended on the distance from the mountains to the town. The shortest aqueducts were just a few miles long. The city of Rome was supplied by 11 aqueducts with lengths ranging from 16.56 kilometres (10 miles 511 yards) to 91.423 kilometres (56 miles 1422 yards). The total length of this network was 475 kilometres (295 miles). The network of aqueducts which supplied Constantinople was a total of 250 kilometres (155 miles).

Most of the water conduits of the Roman aqueducts were underground. They were placed on bridgework when a valley or river needed to be crossed of when there was a need to keep a gradient in a flat area to keep the water flowing. When the bridges needed to be high, two or three tiers of arches were built on top of each other. The most remarkable surviving example are the Pont du Gard (near Nimes, southern France) which has three tiers of arches and is 48.8 m (160 ft.) high and was originally 360 m (1,180 ft.) long. The lowest tier of had 6 arches 22 m (72 ft.) high and is 142 m (466 ft.) long. The second tier had 11 arches 20 m (66 ft.) high and was 242 m (794 ft.) long. The top tier had 47 arches (only 35 survive) 7 m (23 ft.) high. Other impressive remains are the aqueduct of Valens in Constantinople (now Istanbul) which had 55 double arches and 17 single arches and was 29 (95 ft.) metre high and 971 metre (3185 ft.) long; the aqueduct of Segovia, Spain, which has a mixture of 75 single arches and 44 double arches followed by four single arches, and is 28.5 m (93 ft.) and 813 metre (2667 ft.) long; the les Ferreres Aqueduct, near Tarragona, Spain, had 11 larger lower arches and 25 smaller upper arches and.27 metre (88 ft.) high and 249 metre (816 ft.) long; the Aqueducto de los Miraglos, near Merida, Spain, which has 38 arched pillars and is 25 metres (82 ft.) high and 830 metres (2,720 ft.) long.

There are remains of the bridgework of only seven of the eleven aqueducts of the city of Rome. They total 59 kilometres (37 miles). Most of this network was underground conduits.

Answer 2

Most Roman aqueducts fell out of use and in disrepair not very long after the end of Roman civilisation. However, some of them were repaired in the Middle Ages and beyond.

The first Roman aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, was built in 312 BC.

The Valens aqueduct in Constantinople (present day Istanbul), which was built under the emperors Valens (reigned 364-375), was repaired several times by Byzantine emperors until 1185. It still functioned at the end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, albeit at a reduced capacity. Mehmet II, the Ottoman Turk Sultan who conquered Constantinople repaired the whole water system. It was repaired again by four other Sultans until the late 17th century.

In the 16th century, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella rebuilt 36 arches of the aqueduct of Segovia, in Spain, which had been destroyed by the Moors in 1072. It was built under the reign of the emperor Domitian (81-96). In the 16th century, central niches with statues were added to the bridgework. This aqueduct was in use until the mid-19th century.

The Aqua Virgo, one of the 11 aqueducts of the city of Rome, was completed in 19 BC, during the reign of Augustus (27 BC-14 AD). It was repaired by Pope Adrian I in the 8th century. In the Roman days, after the reaching Pincian Hill, it was on bridgework, crossed the area of the present day Trevi Fountain ended at the Pantheon. These arches were later demolished. The rest of the aqueduct was restored and remodelled in 1453 by Pope Nicholas V who also increased its water flow by drawing water from new sources. Six other popes carried out further restoration work until the late 18th century. It was widened in 1840 and 1936 aand supplied water for the city centre. Due to soil pollution, it is no longer used for drinking water. Now it supplies water for the monumental fountains of the city centre: the Trevi Fountain, the Fontana della Barcaccia by the Spanish Steps, and the fountains in Navona Square.

Answer 3

Aqueducts were a various lengths. It all depended upon where the water was sourced and to where it was being piped.