The Aqueduct of Constantinople: Managing the Longest Water Channel of the Ancient World

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The Aqueduct of Constantinople: Managing the longest water channel of the ancient world:

Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) investigated the longest aqueduct of the time, the 426-kilometer-long Aqueduct of Valens supplying Constantinople, and revealed new insights into how this structure was maintained back in time. It appears that the channels had been cleaned of carbonate deposits just a few decades before the site was abandoned.

[...] "However, the most ground-breaking technical achievement of the Roman Empire lies in its water management, particularly its long-distance aqueducts that delivered water to cities, baths, and mines," said Dr. Gul Surmelihindi from the Geoarchaeology group at Mainz University. Aqueducts were not a Roman invention, but in Roman hands these long-distance aqueducts developed further and extensively diffused throughout one of the largest empires in history.

Almost every city in the Roman Empire had an ample supply of fresh running water, in some cases actually with a larger volume than is the case today. "These aqueducts are mostly known for their impressive bridges, such as the Pont du Gard in southern France, which are still standing today after two millennia. [...] The study undertaken by Dr. Gul Surmelihindi and her research team focuses on the most spectacular late-Roman aqueduct, the water supply lines of Constantinople, now Istanbul in present-day Turkey.

[...] Although the aqueduct is late Roman in origin, the carbonate found in the channel is from the Byzantine Middle Ages. [...] They then found that 50 kilometers of the central part of the water system is constructed double, with one aqueduct channel above the other, crossing on two-story bridges. "It is very likely that this system was set up to allow for cleaning and maintenance operations," said Passchier. "It would have been a costly but practical solution."

[...] Unfortunately for the research team, it is no longer possible to study the exact operation of the system. One of the most imposing bridges, that of Ballgerme[*], was blown up with dynamite in 2020 by treasure hunters who erroneously believed they could find gold in the ruins.

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