Roman hydraulic engineering

Meant to post this a while ago, spotted thanks to Mirabilis.ca:

Computer modelling is lifting the lid on the secrets of Roman hydraulic engineering. Hitherto mysterious hurdles and holes, it hints, may have smoothed the flow of water.

In the third century AD, Roman engineers built a system of tunnels and tanks to bring water to the city of Aspendos, today in Turkey. Aspendos was a crucial hub of Roman trade in Asia Minor, sitting at the crossroads of important routes with river access to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Roman writer Vitruvius described the now-ruined system for delivering water to a major settlement. But aspects of his account remain obscure to modern readers because the meaning of some of his Latin terms has been lost and because there were probably other features of Roman civil engineering of which no record survives.

Posted by David on April 10, 2003 12:07 PM