Roman aqueducts and water supply

L’étude a concerné notamment l’organisation du chantier de construction et la problématique de l’approvisionnement en matériaux. Les premiers résultats présentés sommairement ici concernent les moellons employés pour les parements des piles, des écoinçons, des arcs et du canal.

Ce livre constitue une étude d’un ensemble de monuments du site de Tyr el-Bass, l’une des deux zones archéologiques principales de la ville de Tyr. Il traite d’un ensemble de monuments et d’ouvrages situés en position extra-urbaine et qui sont interconnectés : la route antique dans ses deux états romain et byzantin, l’arc monumental ainsi que l’aqueduc. L’ensemble de ces monuments n’a jamais jouit d’une étude scientifique ou bien d’une publication digne de leur valeur archéologique. Ce livre présente donc un travail en grande partie inédit.
La route antique, qui est dégagée sur une longueur de 1200 m constitue l’épine dorsale du site. Elle présente deux états distincts romain et byzantin et est bordée sur ses deux côtés par une nécropole abritant des dizaines d’enclos et de monuments funéraires. Sa section romaine est par ailleurs bordée par des colonnades dorcio-toscanes. Son côté sud est longé par un aqueduc qui capte les sources de Ras el-Aïn, situés à 5 km au sud de la ville. Cet aqueduc, long de 7 km, présente plusieurs sections, dont certaines sont bien conservées. Leur étude a permis de dégager les principaux aspects techniques de cet ouvrage. Enfin, l’arc monumental, dont l’analyse architectonique et urbaine a permis de le dater de la fin du ier s. p.C., enjambe la chaussée antique juste avant l’hippodrome, à 1000 m à l’est de l’emplacement supposé des remparts de la cité romaine. Sa fonction serait donc celle d’une porte urbaine définissant les limites de l’aire municipale de la ville ainsi que celle d’un poste douanier, à l’image d’un ensemble de monuments régionaux semblables.



This book represents a study of a group of monuments of the site of Tyre el-Bass, one of two main archaeological areas of Tyre city. It deals with a set of monuments and structures that are interconnected and located in an extra-urban position: the ancient road in both Roman and Byzantine states, the monumental arch and the aqueduct. None of these monuments has been scientifically studied and no publication that is worthy of their archaeological value has been issued. Therefore, this book presents a work which its majority is original.
The ancient road, which is uncovered over a length of 1200 m, is the backbone of the site. It has two distinct states: Roman and Byzantine. Moreover, it is bordered on both sides by a necropolis with dozens of funerary enclosures and monuments. Its Roman section is also bounded by dorcio-Tuscan colonnades, while its southern side is lined by an aqueduct that captures the sources of Ras al-Ain, located 5 km to the south of the city. This aqueduct that is extended to a 7 km length, has several sections, with some of which are well preserved. Their study identified the main technical aspects of the said monument. Finally, the monumental arch, which architectural and urban analysis dated back to the end of the first century. A.D., spans the ancient road just before the circus, 1000 m to the east of the hypothetical location of the Roman city walls. Its function would be that of an urban gateway defining the limits of the municipal area of the city as well as a customs post, like a set of similar regional monuments.

Abstract
The Aqua Traiana aqueduct, built by Emperor Trajan in 109 A.D., was the tenth of the eleven aqueducts of
ancient Rome. It collected water from many aquifer sources in the hills around the volcanic basin of Lake
Bracciano, in the Sabatini Mountains, and reached Rome with a mostly underground conduit. One of the caput
aquae of the aqueduct was located SE of Oriolo Romano, in an area that is today known as Santa Fiora. From
here a duct descended to the lake to join a similar duct coming from the Grotte Renara Valley. Unlike the latter,
the Santa Fiora branch was cut sometime in the past between the sixth and ninth centuries and never restored,
thereafter forgotten. By carrying out a thorough investigation on the territory, the authors found and explored it,
reconstructing the route in detail. Here we try to explain the construction characteristics of the duct, including
its wells and creek crossing. Finally we discuss the way in which the water could drop the considerable difference
in height between the sources and the lake.
Keywords: artificial cavities, underground aqueducts, roman aqueducts, Traiano, Aqua Traiana.

Riassunto
L’acquedotto Traiano, realizzato per volere dell’imperatore Traiano nel 109 d.C., è il decimo degli undici
acquedotti di Roma antica. Raccoglieva le acque di molte sorgenti attorno al lago di Bracciano, sui monti Sabatini,
e raggiungeva Roma con un percorso in gran parte sotterraneo. Uno dei caput aquae dell’acquedotto era situato
a SE di Oriolo Romano, in una zona nota oggi come Santa Fiora. Da qui un condotto scendeva verso il lago per
ricongiungersi con un analogo condotto proveniente dal fosso di Grotte Renara. Diversamente da quest’ultimo, il
ramo proveniente da Santa Fiora fu tagliato in un’epoca imprecisata tra il VI e il IX secolo e mai più ripristinato,
tanto da essere del tutto dimenticato. Gli autori, effettuando una accurata indagine sul territorio, hanno potuto
ritrovarlo ed esplorarlo, ricostruendone dettagliatamente il percorso. Vengono illustrate le caratteristiche costruttive
del condotto, dei pozzi e degli attraversamenti dei fossi. Viene infine discusso del modo con cui le acque superavano
il notevole dislivello esistente tra le sorgenti e il lago.
Parole chiave: cavità artificiali, acquedotti sotterranei, acquedotti romani, Traiano, Aqua Traiana.

Colloque tenu à Lyon les 8-10 octobre 2020.
Cet événement a finalisé la seconde étape d'un travail commun qui a rassemblé, depuis 2015 et au gré d'une dizaine de rencontres thématiques, des chercheurs de tous rattachements autour de l’étude du réseau d'adduction en eau de Lyon/Lugdunum. Le colloque a exposé les résultats du collectif de travail et a ouvert le débat via l'examen d'autres canaux dont les problématiques étaient similaires. La publication des rencontres est en cours (dossier Gallia).
Organisateurs : Aldo Borlenghi/Université Lumière Lyon 2 et Catherine Coquidé/Inrap, sous la bannière de l’UMR 5138 ArAr.
Lien vers la vidéo et les commentaires de l'excursion du samedi au Plat de l'Air à Chaponost et à Beaunant à Sainte-Foy-les-Lyon (aqueduc du Gier) - 35 mn : https://25images.msh-lse.fr/aqueducs-romains-lyon-2020/video/visite-de-site-version-longue/fr

The great Aqua Augusta aqueduct served the Naples Bay area with fresh water during the time of the Roman Empire. There are very prominent features of the Aqua Augusta, some that are extraordinary when considering other great aqueducts in the Roman Empire. For example, the deep tunnels allowed access to a spring water source from a separate watershed, which resulted in transbasin diversion of the water supply. Each one of the prominent features was engineered to provide water to the public for various uses. The prominent structures included other shallower tunnels (with two major types of construction), hydraulic chutes, arcades (one to an island), baths (located along a well-travelled road), and storage reservoirs. Also, there is the epigraph discovered at the water source. Important villas that may have influenced the alignment of the aqueduct are also discussed.

"Mapping Augustan Rome responds to a lacuna in the field of Roman archaeology and urbanism: there exists no comprehensive reasoned period plan of Republican or Imperial Rome. Our enterprise aimed to create a visual synopsis of what is known about the city of Rome c.A.D. 14 – a pivotal phase of Rome’s transformation into an imperial capital – and to justify our renderings in written form. The result is a set of large-scale maps (1:6000 for the Main Map; 1:3000 for the Central Area) and a critical commentary addressing every structure, area, and aspect depicted. The title, Mapping Augustan Rome, expressly conveys our belief that the work offered here is merely the beginning of a larger process of reasoned visualization to be carried out on many levels of scholarship and which may, eventually, result in a ‘map’ of Augustan Rome.

Begun in December of 1998, Mapping Augustan Rome had its origins in a graduate seminar initiated by Lothar Haselberger and co-taught with David Gilman Romano at the University of Pennsylvania. Contributors to the project included eleven graduate students and one undergraduate, hailing from various disciplines including archaeology, art history, ancient history, and classics. Each participant was assigned a region of the Urbs to research, producing written entries and annotated visual materials which were then transformed by D.G. Romano and two graduate students into a digital format. Concurrently, Andrew Gallia and Nicholas Stapp worked to model the physical topography of the Augustan city, one of the project’s notable innovations (for technical details: “Making the map”. At the end of the process, Mark Davison, a professional graphic designer, improved the legibility and aesthetics of the maps.

The written text includes two introductory chapters which outline the project’s goals, procedures and accomplishments “An introduction to the experiment”, and explain the intricacies of computerized map-making “Making the map”. The balance of the volume consists of individual entries which seek to justify and explain each aspect of the map. Each region of the city is addressed in a broad, over-arching entry, as are several urban systems such as aqueducts, city walls, and suburban expansion. Individual entries detail nearly 400 buildings, monuments, streets, tombs, neighborhoods, and horti, as well as more than 50 aspects of the Augustan city which could not be visualized, often due to an imperfectly known location (for a complete list, consult the indices of the Main Map). Rather than repeating information already available in topographic dictionaries such as the Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae, each entry is limited to issues which impact the rendering process; aspects and debates tangential to the focus of our work are cursorily treated, if at all."

Textes réunis par Morgane Andrieu et Michel Kasprzyk

Résumé :
Gilles Sauron, archéologue, ancien élève de l’École normale supérieure, ancien membre de l’École Française de Rome, professeur d’archéologie à l’Université de Bourgogne puis à l’Université de Paris-Sorbonne, a consacré ses recherches à l’étude de l’art romain à la fin de la République et du début du Principat. Durant sa carrière universitaire, il a dirigé de nombreux mémoires de Maîtrise puis de Master et plus de trente thèses de doctorat portant sur l’archéologie et l’art de l’Empire romain. Une quinzaine d’anciennes étudiantes et étudiants en archéologie mais aussi des collègues ont souhaité lui rendre hommage à travers ce recueil d’hommages consacré à l’archéologie de la Gaule Lyonnaise.
Les dix contributions réunies dans cet ouvrage concernent les cités romaines et leur territoire de Lyon à Chartres et couvrent l’ensemble de la période impériale, de l’époque triumvirale à l’Antiquité tardive. Elles abordent l’architecture domestique et publique, son décor, mais aussi les pratiques funéraires et la culture matérielle. Un cahier d’aquarelles donne à voir des restitutions de plusieurs sites de cette province.

Liste des auteurs :
A.Ahü-Delor, M. Andrieu, L. Borau, E. du Bouëtiez de Kerorguen, N. Delferrière, P.Denat-Simon, A. Desbat, V. Faure, D. Fellague, T. Inacio, M. Kasprzyk, Y.Labaune, A. Louis, P. Nouvel, J. Simon