Forty years ago, when the children of Naples were playing in caves and tunnels beneath the posillipo hill in Italy, they did not know that their playground was in fact a Roman aqueduct. When they shared their memories with archaeological authorities recently, it kicked off an exploration of one of the longest, most mysterious examples of ancient water infrastructure in the Roman world.
The famous aqueducts of Rome have provided water for baths, potable water, public fountains and more. Built during a period of about half a millennium (roughly 300 B.C. to A.D. 200), aqueducts around the former Roman Empire are highly recognizable today thanks to their multitiered arched structure. But this marvel of ancient architecture is only a small fraction of the current water system; most of the infrastructure is still underground.
Outside Rome, the underground aqueducts and their routes are far less understood. This knowledge gap included the newly investigated Aqua Augusta, also called the Serino aqueduct, which was built between 30 B.C. and 20 B.C. to connect luxury villas and suburban outposts in the Bay of Naples. Circling Naples and running down to the ancient vacation destination of Pompeii, the Aqua Augusta is known to have covered at least 87 miles (140 kilometers), bringing water to people all along the coast as well as inland.
But the complex aqua augusta was hardly explored by scholars, which makes it the least documented aqueduct of the Roman world. New discoveries earlier this month by the Cocceius Association, a nonprofit group that engages in speleo-archaeological work, are bringing this fascinating aqueduct to light.
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Thanks to reports from locals who used to explore the tunnels as kids, association members found a branch of the aqueduct that carried drinking water to the hill of Posillipo and to the crescent-shaped island of Nisida. (Image courtesy of Associazione Cocceius (Association Cocceius))
Graziano Ferrari, president of the Cocceius Association, told Live Science in an email that "the Augusta channel runs quite near to the surface, so the inner air is good, and strong breezes often run in the passages." So far, about 2100 feet (650 meters) from the perfectly preserved aqueduct has been found, making it the longest segment known to the Aqua Augusta. So far, Approximately 2,100 feet (650 metres) of the highly conserved aqueduct was found, by doing the longest segment known from the ferrari aqua augusta.graziano, Chairman of the Cocceius Society, says science live in an e-mail that "the Augusta channel runs close to the surface, for good indoor air, The exploration of the aqueduct requires a great deal of experience in caving, though.
The most difficult challenge for speleologists in tunnel exploration was getting around the entanglement of thorns at an entrance. The greatest challenge for cavers in tunnel exploration was getting around the tangle of thorns at an entrance.
In a new report, Ferrari and Cocceius Association Vice President Raffaella Lamagna list several scientific studies that can be done now that this stretch of aqueduct has been found. "once you get into the canal, we've taken on normal challenges related to spelunking—some areas where you have to crawl or sneak." in a new report; and, ferrari and cocceius association vice chairman raffaella lamagna list several scientific studies that can be made now that this part of the aqueduct has been found.
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Rabun Taylor, a professor of classics at the University of Texas at Austin who was not involved in the report, told Live Science in an email that the newly discovered aqueduct section is interesting because it is "actually a byway that served elite Roman villas, not a city. An ancient ritual bath and elite villa discovered by the western wall of Jerusalem — Attila the Hun made a descent to Rome because of the famine, not the thirst for blood, according to a study.
Rabun Taylor, a professor of classical arts from the University of Texas at Austin who did not participate in the report, says Live Science in an e-mail that the newly discovered section of the aqueduct is interesting because it is "in fact a path that has served elite Roman villas, none of the cities. This insight is possible thanks to a thick deposit of lime, a calcium-rich mineral that "accumulates annually like tree rings and can be analyzed isotopically as a proxy for temperature and rainfall," he explained.
The numerous demands on this unique source of water have stretched it very thin, demanding a thorough interview and strict rationing, a Roman aqueduct expert, also said the new find "may be able to tell us a lot about the local climate over hundreds of years when the water was flowing." this insight is possible thanks to a thick deposit of lime, a mineral rich in calcium which "accumulates annually as rings of trees and can be analysed isotopically as a substitute for temperature and precipitation," he explained. A thick deposit of lime makes this vision possible, a mineral rich in calcium which "accumulates annually as rings of trees and can be analysed isotopically as a substitute for temperature and precipitation," he explained.