Romans Built 250-Mile Wonder
Ancient engineers used durable concrete and careful surveying to construct towering aqueducts, like Constantinople's 250-mile aqueduct of Valens
The Romans built their towering aqueducts by carefully designing a route with a slight incline and using a durable form of concrete, with some aqueducts stretching for hundreds of miles and lasting for centuries.
One notable example is the aqueduct of Valens, which brought water to the city of Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, and was an impressive 250 miles long.
Roman surveyors used specialized tools, such as the libra or the dioptra, to design a route with the necessary gradient for the aqueducts. The dioptra was shaped like a disc with a sighting bar in the middle and could be suspended from a stand, allowing surveyors to measure differences in elevation.
The libra, on the other hand, had a plumb bob that was suspended in the air and was used to determine differences in ground height.
The Romans also developed a durable form of concrete, made with pozzolan, an ashy substance, combined with lime and water, which hardened when exposed to water.
## Why it matters The construction of these aqueducts demonstrates the Romans' engineering prowess and had a significant impact on the cities and settlements they served. The aqueducts were designed to flow toward the city or settlement with an ever-so-slight incline downwards from the spring to its end source, allowing water to flow continuously.
The selection of springs as a popular choice for the source of water for the aqueducts also played a crucial role in their success.
The remains of these aqueducts are some of the most prominent Roman architectural finds visible today, a testament to the ingenuity and skill of the Roman engineers who built them.
