Aqua Claudia

Aqua Claudia
Construction year	AD 38–52
length	69 km
Headwaters	Valley of the Aniene near Marano Equo
Height of the source above sea level	320 m
Height in Rome	67 m
Cross section in the lower reaches (W × H in m)	0.9 x 2.0

The Aqua Claudia was an ancient Roman aqueduct ( aqueduct ) to supply the city of Rome .

history

Remains of the Arcus Neroniani on the Palatine Hill

Like the Anio Novus , Aqua Claudia was started under Emperor Caligula in 38 AD and ended under Emperor Claudius in 52 AD. The two water pipes were inaugurated together on August 1st. Their construction costs amounted to 350,000,000 sesterces .

After just ten years of use, the supply line was interrupted for a period of nine years, until Emperor Vespasian had it restored in AD 71 and Emperor Titus had it repaired again ten years later.

To the south-east of Porta Maggiore , a piece of the Aqua Claudia from 271 was incorporated into the Aurelian city wall by bricking up the arches .

Water flow

The main sources of the Aqua Claudia, Caeruleus and Curtius, are located around 445 m on the left side of the 38th milestone from Via Sublacensis .

The length of the canal was around 69 kilometers. The canal was mostly underground. Depending on the season, it carried up to 191,190 cubic meters per day. After the “filter container”, near the 7th milestone of the Via Latina , the Aqua Claudia was guided towards the city for the last 13 kilometers with above-ground arch structures.

Part of the Anio Novus was built on top of the Aqua Claudia, the construction forming a monumental arch, called the Porta Maggiore , before they parted and crossed the Aqua Marcia and the Aqua Tepula .

Aqueduct of Emperor Nero (Arcus Neroniani)

Porta Maggiore , crossing point of the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus with the Aqua Marcia and the Aqua Tepula

After Emperor Nero had the Arcus Neroniani (also Arcus Caelimontani ), a branch of the Aqua Claudia, built, all 14 Roman districts could be supplied with their water. The Arcus Neroniani initially led over a length of two kilometers to the temple of the deified ( divus ) Claudius on the hill Caelius .

Nero used this water to supply his huge palace in Rome, the Domus Aurea , the "Golden House", and it was Emperor Domitian who had the arch construction extended to the Palatine Hill. For this purpose, the valley between the two hills had to be overcome by one of the most daring structures of ancient Rome.

The arches had a span of 7.75 meters, the pillars had a height of 2.30 meters and a width of 2.10 meters. The construction measured 16 meters at the highest point and was only built with bricks.

literature

Samuel Ball Platner , Thomas Ashby : A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press, London 1929, pp. 22-23, ( digitized ) and 40-41, ( digitized ).
Filippo Coarelli : Rome. An archaeological guide. von Zabern, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2685-8 , pp. 30, 39-40, 204.
Lawrence Richardson : A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1992, ISBN 0-8018-4300-6 , pp. 16-17, (Aqua Claudia).

Web links

Commons : Aqua Claudia - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Suetonius , Caligula 21.
↑ According to Tacitus , Annals 11, 13, perhaps as early as AD 47.
↑ CIL 6, 1259 .

41.845999 12.561Coordinates: 41 ° 50 ′ 45.6 ″ N , 12 ° 33 ′ 39.6 ″ E

[1] Suetonius , Caligula 21.

[2] According to Tacitus , Annals 11, 13, perhaps as early as AD 47.

[3] CIL 6, 1259 .