Anio Vetus
| Anio Vetus | |
|---|---|
| Construction year | 272-269 BC Chr. |
| length | 64 km |
| Headwaters | Valley of the Aniene northeast of Tivoli |
| Height of the source above sea level |
280 m |
| Height in Rome | 48 m |
| Cross section in the lower reaches (W × H in m) |
0.9 x 2.3 |
The Anio Vetus (named after the river Aniene , lat. Anio ) was a Roman aqueduct ( aqueduct ) for the supply of ancient Rome .
history
The Anio Vetus was the second aqueduct in Rome. Its construction began in 272 BC. And ended in 269 BC The censors Manius Curius Dentatus and Lucius Papirius Praetextatus ordered the construction, which was financed from the booty of the victory against Pyrrhus . After the death of the two censors, the aqueduct was completed by Marcus Fulvius Flaccus .
The name Anio Vetus (Latin vetus "old") was given to the water pipe when the Anio Novus ( novus "new") was built in AD 38.
Water flow
For the water supply, water was taken from the Anio river near Vicovaro . For strategic reasons, the approximately 64 km long aqueduct ran largely underground, along the river to Tibur , then along Via Prenestina to Gabii, and reached the city along Via Latina and Via Labicana near Porta Maggiore. Within this it was led as an aqueduct over the Esquiline and ended between the Porta Esquilina and the Viminal near what is now Termini station. One and a half kilometers before the Porta Maggiore, the line had a branch, the specus Octavianus , which led in the direction of the Porta Latina and beyond to where the Baths of Caracalla were later built.
The water pipe had to be repaired several times. This happened especially under Quintus Marcius Rex in the 2nd century BC. BC, then under Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in 33 BC. And under Emperor Augustus in the years 11 to 4 BC Chr.
After the construction of the Anio Novus and the reforms of the superintendent of the Sextus Iulius Frontinus aqueducts , which increased the quality of the water, the water of the Anio Vetus was mostly used to water the gardens.
Remarks
- ↑ Frontinus ( de aquis 1,6) instead incorrectly names Lucius Papirius Cursor , one of the consuls of the year 272 BC, because of a mix-up . So in Der Kleine Pauly sv Papirius 36.
- ↑ This section largely based on Staccioli ; see. Bibliography!
See also
literature
- Samuel Ball Platner , Thomas Ashby : A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press, London 1929, pp. 12-13, ( digitized ).
- Lawrence Richardson : A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1992, ISBN 0-8018-4300-6 , p. 11, (Anio Vetus).
- Romolo A. Staccioli: Guida di Roma antica (= Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli. 585). 3a edition. Rizzoli, Milan 1994, ISBN 88-17-16585-9 .
