#constantinopel
The “longest water supply line from the ancient world” was that made for Constantinople - “at least 2.5x the length of the longest recorded Roman aqueducts.” Constantinople was strategically perfectly located, but water was lacking & required engineering solutions
It is an under-noticed Roman achievement: “At over 250km it is the longest water supply line known from the ancient world & it remains one of the greatest achievements of hydraulic engineering. It has however been largely ignored in all standard accounts of Roman hydraulic engineering. The principle reason for this is that for much of their length, the water channels run through dense and inhospitable forest, thereby effectively deterring archaeological investigations until recently.”
“More than 30 stone bridges/many kilometers of underground tunnels carried the water over mountain and plain from the plentiful springs of the Istranja mountain range near Vize directly to the heart of the city (Constantinople). Such was the magnificence of the undertaking that it even appears to have received its own popular mythology so that medieval writers claimed that its source was the great Danube River.”
“The known system is at least two and a half times the length of the longest recorded Roman aqueducts at Carthage and Cologne, but more significantly it represents one of the most outstanding surveying achievements of any pre-industrial society.”
Arguably this water system “inaugurated and confirmed the city as the new capital of the Roman world, the New Rome. Not only was it built to fulfill the daily needs of the growing population, but it also supplied the great bathing establishments and monumental fountains expected in any classical metropolis. To the resident emperors, the water supply was not simply a functional requirement for sustenance, it was a symbol of wealth, power, and continuity.” It also fed agricultural projects in some of the more open areas of the City.
In the medieval world, although there was nearly 1.5 centuries it was not functioning, was incredibly unique to have at the time. It was special in the ancient world, but in the medieval world is it was truly a wonder. One of the many reasons Constantinople is such a captivating place to imagine.
Source: The Water Supply of Constantinople: Archaeology and Hydrogeology of an Early Medieval City by P. Bono, J. Crow, and R. Bayliss
The “longest water supply line from the ancient world” was that made for Constantinople - “at least 2.5x the length of the longest recorded Roman aqueducts.” Constantinople was strategically perfectly located, but water was lacking & required engineering solutions
It is an under-noticed Roman achievement: “At over 250km it is the longest water supply line known from the ancient world & it remains one of the greatest achievements of hydraulic engineering. It has however been largely ignored in all standard accounts of Roman hydraulic engineering. The principle reason for this is that for much of their length, the water channels run through dense and inhospitable forest, thereby effectively deterring archaeological investigations until recently.”
“More than 30 stone bridges/many kilometers of underground tunnels carried the water over mountain and plain from the plentiful springs of the Istranja mountain range near Vize directly to the heart of the city (Constantinople). Such was the magnificence of the undertaking that it even appears to have received its own popular mythology so that medieval writers claimed that its source was the great Danube River.”
“The known system is at least two and a half times the length of the longest recorded Roman aqueducts at Carthage and Cologne, but more significantly it represents one of the most outstanding surveying achievements of any pre-industrial society.”
Arguably this water system “inaugurated and confirmed the city as the new capital of the Roman world, the New Rome. Not only was it built to fulfill the daily needs of the growing population, but it also supplied the great bathing establishments and monumental fountains expected in any classical metropolis. To the resident emperors, the water supply was not simply a functional requirement for sustenance, it was a symbol of wealth, power, and continuity.” It also fed agricultural projects in some of the more open areas of the City.
In the medieval world, although there was nearly 1.5 centuries it was not functioning, was incredibly unique to have at the time. It was special in the ancient world, but in the medieval world is it was truly a wonder. One of the many reasons Constantinople is such a captivating place to imagine.
Source: The Water Supply of Constantinople: Archaeology and Hydrogeology of an Early Medieval City by P. Bono, J. Crow, and R. Bayliss
#constantinopel
The “longest water supply line from the ancient world” was that made for Constantinople - “at least 2.5x the length of the longest recorded Roman aqueducts.” Constantinople was strategically perfectly located, but water was lacking & required engineering solutions
It is an under-noticed Roman achievement: “At over 250km it is the longest water supply line known from the ancient world & it remains one of the greatest achievements of hydraulic engineering. It has however been largely ignored in all standard accounts of Roman hydraulic engineering. The principle reason for this is that for much of their length, the water channels run through dense and inhospitable forest, thereby effectively deterring archaeological investigations until recently.”
“More than 30 stone bridges/many kilometers of underground tunnels carried the water over mountain and plain from the plentiful springs of the Istranja mountain range near Vize directly to the heart of the city (Constantinople). Such was the magnificence of the undertaking that it even appears to have received its own popular mythology so that medieval writers claimed that its source was the great Danube River.”
“The known system is at least two and a half times the length of the longest recorded Roman aqueducts at Carthage and Cologne, but more significantly it represents one of the most outstanding surveying achievements of any pre-industrial society.”
Arguably this water system “inaugurated and confirmed the city as the new capital of the Roman world, the New Rome. Not only was it built to fulfill the daily needs of the growing population, but it also supplied the great bathing establishments and monumental fountains expected in any classical metropolis. To the resident emperors, the water supply was not simply a functional requirement for sustenance, it was a symbol of wealth, power, and continuity.” It also fed agricultural projects in some of the more open areas of the City.
In the medieval world, although there was nearly 1.5 centuries it was not functioning, was incredibly unique to have at the time. It was special in the ancient world, but in the medieval world is it was truly a wonder. One of the many reasons Constantinople is such a captivating place to imagine.
Source: The Water Supply of Constantinople: Archaeology and Hydrogeology of an Early Medieval City by P. Bono, J. Crow, and R. Bayliss
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