Roman engineering

Sáez et al. 2010: Pedro SÁEZ FERNÁNDEZ, Salvador ORDÓÑEZ AGULLA y Sergio GARCÍA-DILS DE LA VEGA. “Infraestructuras hidráulicas en el territorio de una colonia romana de la Bética: el caso de Astigi, colonia Augusta Firma (Écija, Sevilla, España)”. En L. G. LAGÓSTENA BARRIOS, J. L. CAÑIZAR PALACIOS y L. PONS PUJOL (eds.). Aquam · perducendam · curavit. Captación, uso y administración del agua en las ciudades de la Bética y el Occidente romano. Cádiz, pp. 409-438.

by Sergio García-Dils de la Vega

Conducciones romanas en Augusta Emerita (Hispania)

by Isaac Sastre de Diego

El metal y el agua

by Isabel Rodà de Llanza

Published in "Sautuola. Metalistería de la Hispania romana", 2007

Combinando las fuentes arqueológicas, literarias y epigráficas, se revisan los elementos metálicos empleados en las... more Combinando las fuentes arqueológicas, literarias y epigráficas, se revisan los elementos metálicos empleados en las obras hidráulicas y la maquinaria de achique. Según la frecuencia de su uso, hemos de mencionar el plomo, seguido del bronce y en tercer lugar, el hierro. Los metales nobles, plata y oro, aparecen en proporciones casi testimoniales. La mayor cantidad de los metales romanos relacionados con el agua se emplearon en los acueductos, en las tuberías (fistulae) y en los elementos reguladores: calices, válvulas, grifos o llaves de paso (epitonia). Las máquinas para achicar agua eran esencialmente de madera, aunque para los ejes y los reluerzos se recurrió tanto al bronce como al hierro. Además, podemos mencionar la vertiente decorativa que ofrece el bronce como ornamento de las fuentes, en especial los caños por los que brota el agua, sin olvidar las vasijas y los instrumentos musicales.


Combining archaeological, literary, and epigraphic sources, this paper deals with the metallic elements used in hydraulic projects and water-lifting machinery. Following an order in direct proportion to their frequency of use we first mention lead, then bronze, and in third place, iron. Precious metals also played a role, but only in practically token amounts. Most of the Roman metalwork related to water was used in aqueducts - pipes (fistulae) and regulating devices such as villves (calices), taps, and stopcocks (epitonia). Wood was the main raw material for building large water-lifting machines, although bronze and iron were used on the axles and reinforcements. In addition to this authentic exhibition of technological power, presented to us by the metallic elements related lo hydraulic architecture and engineering, we should also point out that beyond its merely functilonal aspect brome had a decorative role as ornamentation on fountains, especially as water spouts.

G. CIFANI, I grandi cantieri della Roma arcaica: aspetti tecnici e organizzativi”, in Anejos de archivio espanol de arqueologìa LVII, 2010, 35-50.

by Gabriele Cifani

Auguste Choisy and the Economics of Roman Construction

by Lynne Lancaster

In Javier Girón, Santiago Huerta (eds), August Choisy (1841-1909) l'architecture et l'art de bâtir : (actas del Simposio Internacional celebrado en Madrid, November 19-20, 2009): 307-328

Early Examples of So-Called Pitched Brick Barrel Vaulting in Roman Greece and Asia Minor: A Question of Origin and Intention

by Lynne Lancaster

In M. Bachmann (ed.), Bautechnik im antiken und vorantiken Kleinasien (Proceedings of an International Conference June 13-16, 2007) Byzas 9 (2009): 371-391

I examine the early examples of the so–called pitched brick vaulting technique in barrel vaults in Greece and Asia... more I examine the early examples of the so–called pitched brick vaulting technique in barrel vaults in Greece and Asia Minor. I make the distinction between bricks set vertically and those that are truly pitched because the distinction can shed light on both the use and origin of the technique in the Roman world. Particular attention is given to the earliest and largest example known, Bath A at Argos, Greece, and then examples from 2nd – 3rd-century Asia Minor are presented. I argue that the large spanned examples were intended not to reduce the amount of wood used for centering as commonly assumed but rather as a means of reinforcing the crown of the vaults by making them less susceptible to cracking. I suggest that the inspiration for the Roman use of the technique comes directly from Mesopotamia, as opposed to Egypt, through contact via military interventions against the Parthians and Sassanids in the 1st – 3rd centuries AD.

Parthian Influence on Vaulting In Roman Greece? An Inquiry Into Technological Exchange Under Hadrian

by Lynne Lancaster

American Journal of Archaeology 114 (2010): 447-472 (can't post this due to AJA copyright agreement)

The earliest known Roman examples of pitched-brick vaulting appear in hydraulic systems in the first half of the... more The earliest known Roman examples of pitched-brick vaulting appear in hydraulic systems in the first half of the second century C.E. at Athens, Eleusis, and Argos, while others at Dion and Gortyn may also date from the same period. I argue, based on an analysis of the constructional details, that the technique was introduced from Parthia by military construction experts specializing in hydraulics, who had been involved in Trajan’s Parthian War and, upon returning to home bases in the West, brought new construction techniques. The examples from Athens occur in the Hadrianic aqueduct and thus can be securely dated to the period just after the war. Those from Eleusis, which also relate to an aqueduct project, can likewise be dated to the reign of Hadrian or Antoninus Pius. The most impressive example occurs at the so-called Serapeum (Bath A) at Argos, which is among the largest known barrel vaults using this technique. It has been dated by the excavators to ca. 100 C.E.; however, I argue that this structure was originally built somewhat later, under Hadrian, and that it was part of a larger project at Argos.

Provenancing of Lightweight Volcanic Stones Used in Ancient Roman Concrete Vaulting: Evidence from Turkey and Tunisia

by Lynne Lancaster

Co-authors: G. Sottili, F. Marra, and G. Ventura. Published in Archaeometry 52.6 (2010) 949-961; doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2009.00509.x

Samples of four lightweight volcanic rocks from the vaults of Roman bath buildings in modern Tunisia (Carthage,... more Samples of four lightweight volcanic rocks from the vaults of Roman bath buildings in modern Tunisia (Carthage, Leptiminus) and Turkey (Anazarbos, Elaeussa Sebaste) were analyzed by means of thin section, XRF, and LA-ICP-MS to determine their provenances. Both samples from Turkey came from the Ceyhan-Osmaniye volcanic district in Smooth Cilicia. The use of the scoria at Elaeussa Sebaste, which is outside this volcanic district, was likely the result of cabotage along the southern coast of Asia Minor. Of the Tunisian samples, the one from Carthage is a product of Sardinia whereas the one from Leptiminus is a product of Pantelleria. Both samples from Tunisia came from nearby volcanic islands that also produced lava grain mills, many of which were destined for North Africa; therefore the lightweight scoria and pumice in Tunisia likely arrived at the building sites as secondary cargos on established regional trade routes.

Provenancing of Lightweight Volcanic Stones Used in Ancient Roman Concrete Vaulting: Evidence from Rome

by Lynne Lancaster

Co-authors: G. Sottili, F. Marra and G. Ventura. "Provenancing of lightweight volcanic stones used in ancient Roman concrete vaulting: evidence from Rome" Archaeometry (2011); doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2010.00565.x

This paper presents the geochemical analysis of lightweight scoria and pumice used in concrete vaults from ancient... more This paper presents the geochemical analysis of lightweight scoria and pumice used in concrete vaults from ancient Rome. The geochemical signatures of dark scoria indicates a provenance of the 36–18 ka lavas of Vesuvius, as opposed to the more recent events on which Pompeii was built, as previously thought. The light-coloured pumices analysed, which were originally thought to belong to the Sabatini volcanic system (north of Rome), corresponded instead to products from Campi Flegrei. These results provoke re-evaluation of the trade and acquisition of these specialized materials destined for imperial projects in the capital city.

Ash Mortar and Vaulting Tubes: Agricultural Production and the Building Industry in North Africa

by Lynne Lancaster

"Ash Mortar and Vaulting Tubes: Agricultural Production and the Building Industry in North Africa" In : S. Camporeale, H. Dessales, and A. Pizzo (eds.), Les chantiers de construction de l’Italie et des provinces romaines: 3e rencontre. L’économie des chantiers (Paris, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 10-11 décembre 2009) (FORTHCOMING).

In this paper I examine two building materials that illustrate the way in which agricultural practices affected... more In this paper I examine two building materials that illustrate the way in which agricultural practices affected choices in the building industry in North Africa. The first is the use of ash from cereals and herbivore manure as a pozzolanic additive for creating a hydraulic mortar. Recent experimental studies have shown that ash from wheat straw and herbivore manure, which are high in silica, produce a pozzolanic reaction when mixed with lime mortar. The mortar of linings in cisterns in North Africa often contain ash, and I suggest that wheat and manure are the likely sources of this ash. The second technique is the use of terracotta vaulting tubes, the proliferation of which began in the area of modern Tunisia during the 3rd century A.D. I suggest that this phenomenon can be related to imperial agricultural policy during the 2nd century A.D., which promoted more intensive and widespread cultivation in Africa Proconsularis and with it a certain amount of deforestation. Increased exportation of agricultural products led to improved land transport networks in the interior and to the necessity for production of large numbers of terracotta amphoras for shipping liquid foodstuffs. With the concomitant growth of the ceramics industry, the vaulting tubes became an economically viable alternative to the more traditional wooden centering, which the tubes replaced. Thus the proliferation of the vaulting tubes is simply one of the many phenomena resulting from North Africa's rise as one of the major agricultural producers during the 2nd century.

Un Particolare Tipo De Pompa Idraulica: la pompa di Ctesibius

by Donato Fasolini

published in Monumentos que asombraron al mundo. Ingenieria de Hispania in Homenaje a I. Gonzalez Tascon,

Madrid 2007.


ISBN 9788460806608

Novos dados para o conhecimento da Villa Romana de Pisões (Beja)

by Miguel Serra

Published in: Actas do 3º Encontro de Arqueologia do Sudoeste Peninsular, Aljustrel, 26 a 28 de Outubro de 2006, VIPASCA, Arqueologia e História, n.º 2, 2ª série, 2008, pp. 503 – 507