Roman Aqueduct Flow Estimation Using Geomatic Measurement
The aqueducts built by the ancient Romans are among the most impressive evidence of their engineering skills. The water inside the aqueducts was transported for kilometers, exploiting only the slight but constant differences in altitude throughout the route. To keep the differences in height constan...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/10/6/360 |
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| author | Claudio Alimonti Valerio Baiocchi Giorgia Bonanotte Gábor Molnár |
| author_facet | Claudio Alimonti Valerio Baiocchi Giorgia Bonanotte Gábor Molnár |
| author_sort | Claudio Alimonti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aqueducts built by the ancient Romans are among the most impressive evidence of their engineering skills. The water inside the aqueducts was transported for kilometers, exploiting only the slight but constant differences in altitude throughout the route. To keep the differences in height constant, the aqueducts could proceed underground or aboveground on well-known arched structures that supported lead, ceramic or stone pipes. In order to reconstruct the characteristics of these structures, it is necessary to carry out an accurate survey of the orthometric heights, and therefore the most suitable technology is geometric levelling. In this case, however, it is not applicable, and therefore here we propose an alternative methodology. The final goal of this work was to estimate the flow of some sectors of these aqueducts preserved in the area south of the city of Rome. This has two main purposes: The first is to reconstruct the flow rate of these aqueducts for historical studies; the second is to check how much the orthometric heights have changed over the centuries, in order to reconstruct the movements from a geophysical and geodynamic point of view. The latter analysis will be developed in a following phase of this research. For this purpose, a high-precision geomatic survey was carried out in the area under study, partly retracing a survey already carried out in 1917 whose purpose and methodologies are not known. The area has been affected by a gradual subsidence over centuries, including since 1917. The observed sections of the aqueducts showed average inclinations, slightly lower than the 2 per thousand that is reported in the literature for similar aqueducts. The measurements carried out allowed the flow rate of the two specific aqueducts to be estimated more accurately, both as they were originally and in the presence of deposits that have accumulated during the years of use of the aqueducts. The reconstruction of the initial geometry will later be used as a reference to estimate how much the geodynamic deformations of the area have deformed the aqueducts themselves. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:04:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af6503dd85d4436ab7596289e527a301 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2220-9964 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:04:40Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
| spelling | doaj.art-af6503dd85d4436ab7596289e527a3012023-11-21T21:14:59ZengMDPI AGISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information2220-99642021-05-0110636010.3390/ijgi10060360Roman Aqueduct Flow Estimation Using Geomatic MeasurementClaudio Alimonti0Valerio Baiocchi1Giorgia Bonanotte2Gábor Molnár3Chemical, Materials and Environmental Engineering Department (DICMA), Sapienza Università di Roma, I-00184 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Constructional and Environmental Engineeering (DICEA), Sapienza Università di Roma, I-00184 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Constructional and Environmental Engineeering (DICEA), Sapienza Università di Roma, I-00184 Rome, ItalyMTA-ELTE Geological, Geophysical and Space Science Research Group, 1117 Budapest, HungaryThe aqueducts built by the ancient Romans are among the most impressive evidence of their engineering skills. The water inside the aqueducts was transported for kilometers, exploiting only the slight but constant differences in altitude throughout the route. To keep the differences in height constant, the aqueducts could proceed underground or aboveground on well-known arched structures that supported lead, ceramic or stone pipes. In order to reconstruct the characteristics of these structures, it is necessary to carry out an accurate survey of the orthometric heights, and therefore the most suitable technology is geometric levelling. In this case, however, it is not applicable, and therefore here we propose an alternative methodology. The final goal of this work was to estimate the flow of some sectors of these aqueducts preserved in the area south of the city of Rome. This has two main purposes: The first is to reconstruct the flow rate of these aqueducts for historical studies; the second is to check how much the orthometric heights have changed over the centuries, in order to reconstruct the movements from a geophysical and geodynamic point of view. The latter analysis will be developed in a following phase of this research. For this purpose, a high-precision geomatic survey was carried out in the area under study, partly retracing a survey already carried out in 1917 whose purpose and methodologies are not known. The area has been affected by a gradual subsidence over centuries, including since 1917. The observed sections of the aqueducts showed average inclinations, slightly lower than the 2 per thousand that is reported in the literature for similar aqueducts. The measurements carried out allowed the flow rate of the two specific aqueducts to be estimated more accurately, both as they were originally and in the presence of deposits that have accumulated during the years of use of the aqueducts. The reconstruction of the initial geometry will later be used as a reference to estimate how much the geodynamic deformations of the area have deformed the aqueducts themselves.https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/10/6/360Roman aqueductsancient Romelevellingwater flowGNSSColli Albani |
| spellingShingle | Claudio Alimonti Valerio Baiocchi Giorgia Bonanotte Gábor Molnár Roman Aqueduct Flow Estimation Using Geomatic Measurement ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information Roman aqueducts ancient Rome levelling water flow GNSS Colli Albani |
| title | Roman Aqueduct Flow Estimation Using Geomatic Measurement |
| title_full | Roman Aqueduct Flow Estimation Using Geomatic Measurement |
| title_fullStr | Roman Aqueduct Flow Estimation Using Geomatic Measurement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Roman Aqueduct Flow Estimation Using Geomatic Measurement |
| title_short | Roman Aqueduct Flow Estimation Using Geomatic Measurement |
| title_sort | roman aqueduct flow estimation using geomatic measurement |
| topic | Roman aqueducts ancient Rome levelling water flow GNSS Colli Albani |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/10/6/360 |
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