Roman aqueduct

The extraordinary greatness of the Roman Empire manifests itself above all in three things: the aqueducts, the paved roads, and the construction of the drains. ~ Dionysius of Halicarnassus

If we .. reflect upon the distances that are traversed from the sources on the hills, the arches that have been constructed, the mountains pierced, the valleys leveled, we must perforce admit that there is nothing more worthy of our admiration throughout the whole universe. ~ Strabo

The Roman aqueduct is the type of aqueduct built in ancient Rome, that supplied fountains, latrines, public baths, and private households; it also supported farms, gardens, milling, and mining operations. Rome's first aqueduct was built in 312 BC. By the 3rd century AD, the city had [[List of aqueducts in the city of Rome|eleven aqueducts]. Cities and towns throughout the Roman Empire emulated this model, and funded aqueducts as objects of public interest and civic pride

Quotes

• The extraordinary greatness of the Roman Empire manifests itself above all in three things: the aqueducts, the paved roads, and the construction of the drains.
  • Dionysius of Halicarnassus in Roman Antiquities (c 7 BCE) Cited by Quilici, Lorenzo (2008) in "Land Transport, Part 1: Roads and Bridges" in The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World

• ...the Roman prudence was more particularly employed on matters which had received but little attention from the Greeks, such as paving their roads, constructing aqueducts, and sewers, to convey the sewage of the city into the Tiber. In fact, they have paved the roads, cut through hills, and filled up valleys, so that the merchandise may be conveyed by carriage from the ports. The sewers, arched over with hewn stones, are large enough in some parts for waggons loaded with hay to pass through; while so plentiful is the supply of water from the aqueducts, that rivers may be said to flow through the city and the sewers, and almost every house is furnished with water-pipes and copious fountains.
  • Strabo in Geography 5.3.8 (some time between 7 BCE and 18 CE)

• But let us now turn our attention to some marvels that, if justly appreciated, may be pronounced to remain unsurpassed... If we take into account the abundant supply of water to the public, for baths, ponds, canals, household purposes, gardens, places in the suburbs and country houses, and then reflect upon the distances that are traversed from the sources on the hills, the arches that have been constructed, the mountains pierced, the valleys leveled, we must perforce admit that there is nothing more worthy of our admiration throughout the whole universe.
  • Pliny the Elder on Roman aqueducts in Natural History XXXVI.xxiv.121-123 (CE 77–79)

• Aqueducts were a combination of beauty and stability, quintessentially Roman, being practical and monumental at the same time.
  • Anastasios D. Nikolopoulos in "Luxus im alten Rom. Die öffentliche Pracht" Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2007)