WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Aqueducts required a great deal of planning. They were made from a series of pipes, tunnels, canals, and bridges. Gravity and the natural slope of the land allowed aqueducts to channel water from a freshwater source, such as a lake or spring, to a city.

Detailed explanation-2: -The first aqueduct was the Aqua Appia, erected in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus (c. 340 to 273 BC). During the Republican period, three more aqueducts were built: the Anio Vetus (272 to 269 BC), Aqua Marcia (144 to 140 BC), and Aqua Tepula (126 to 125 BC) (Bruun 2013, 298).

Detailed explanation-3: -Aqueducts (or water bridges) are bridges constructed to convey watercourses across gaps such as valleys or ravines. The term aqueduct may also be used to refer to the entire watercourse, as well as the bridge.

Detailed explanation-4: -Roman aqueduct at Pont du Gard, France The aqueduct was used to supply water to the town on Nimes, which is about 30 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. Although the water ended up in the baths and homes in Nimes, it originated about 12 miles away in higher elevations to the north.

Detailed explanation-5: -When the pipes had to span a valley, they built a siphon underground: a vast dip in the land that caused the water to drop so quickly it had enough momentum to make it uphill.

Detailed explanation-6: -Romans built aqueducts and other constructions using a mixture of stone, brick and a volcanic cement known as pozzolana, that held it all together in place. It was this remarkable, innovative substance that allowed Roman aqueducts to stay so strong, and the reason why so many are still standing today.