Pompeii

Pompeii

Lawrence Technological University

February 2, 2016

Aluzzo, Adrienne (photograph)

hydraulic structures

2006

Italy (nation)

Pompeii (deserted settlement)

Imperial (Roman)

fountains

Detail view of fountain in the shape of a bull's head at Pompeii, Italy. "In its first several centuries as a town, Pompeii got most of its water from underground cisterns, which were fed by rainwater collected from roofs. One of the perks of being part of the Roman Republic, however, was having access to all the latest technology, and in the early first century AD Pompeii constructed an aqueduct system to bring fresh, clean water from the hills 40 kilometres away. This water flowed into a roofed reservoir (castellum aquae) before dividing into three large lead pipes which ran under the pavements. Six-metre-high towers with lead tanks on top were built at intervals along these three pipelines. The 35-metre height difference between the castellum and the lowest point in the city meant that the water in the pipes was under pressure, allowing smaller pipes to carry water up to the tanks, then back down the towers to supply public fountains, houses, shops and facilities such as baths,"--Melbourne Museum, A Day in Pompeii.

concrete

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