Ancient hydraulic works

Pergamon cistern

Hydrosystem:Pergamon
Use: Urban Water Supply
Construction era: Hellenistic
Types: Cistern
Operation era: Hellenistic, Roman
Location: Asia Minor (today Turkey) - Pergamon
References:
  • H. Fahlbusch: The Big Cistern of the Acropolis of Pergamum-A Reservoir for the Storage of Water to Fight Against Fire, IWA Specialized Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies in Ancient Civilizations, Turkey 2012

The dimensions and the type of construction of the cistern were different from the normal rainwater cisterns because its main use was to storage sufficient water to fight against fire. The big cistern was placed near the palaces and it is estimated that it had a diameter of 4.55 m and a depth of 6.20 m. The cistern was enclosed with small ashlars with different dimensions and between the ashlars and the cistern was a fill of quarried stones and lime mortar. The inner ace of the cistern was covered with ashlars covered by plaster. In the middle of the cistern was a round pillar and probably the ceiling was made with wooden beams. In case of a fire, two persons were removing the cover from the cistern and then, at least four human chains were taking the water from the cistern to the fire.

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