Amazing Roman Engineering Still Used Today
Thanks to the advanced craftsmanship of ancient Roman architects and their remarkably durable building materials, many of the empire’s most impressive structures still stand today, attracting millions of tourists—over 6 million visit the Colosseum alone each year. However, perhaps the most astonishing engineering feat of ancient Rome is its iconic aqueducts, one of which continues to supply water to the city millennia after it was built.
While the Romans didn’t invent the aqueduct Roman engineers perfected the concept. The Acqua Vergine, originally built as the Aqua Virgo during Emperor Augustus’s reign in 19 BC, still delivers water to Rome more than 2,000 years after its creation. Though it has undergoing several restorations over the centuries.
The extraordinary longevity of Rome’s aqueducts and other ancient structures can be attributed to the city’s near-miraculous concrete recipe. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found that Roman concrete possesses a unique ability to self-heal, thanks to the presence of lime clasts (small mineral chunks) and a technique known as “hot mixing,” where lime is mixed at extremely high temperatures. Today, scientists are exploring the secrets of this ancient material with the hope of applying Rome’s ancient wisdom to modern construction practices.
Another interesting fact of Rome’s historical water engineering prowess is that the city boasts more water fountains than any other city in the world. Although estimates suggest there may be as many as 3,000 fountains, many of them are no longer in operation.
If you want to know how Roman aqueducts work, and how incredible long they can be, check out this video. It is very good! It also explains how the aqueducts were not used for what you might think they were used for.