A brief history of urban water supply in antiquity

L.W. Mays, D. Koutsoyiannis, and A. N. Angelakis, A brief history of urban water supply in antiquity, Water Science and Technology: Water Supply, 7 (1), 1–12, doi:10.2166/ws.2007.001, 2007.

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[English]

A brief history of ancient water supply techniques for urban areas from the earliest civilizations through the Roman times is presented. Throughout the history of urban centers, a sufficient water supply has been the backbone of each city. All sources of water, rivers, lakes, springs, underground sources, and rainwater collection, were exploited for urban supply starting from the earliest civilizations. The specific choice was depending upon the civilization, the geomorphology, the topography, and the local climatic and hydrological conditions. No large-scale lifting techniques were available; thus, water was transferred from the source by aqueducts from a higher altitude. Cisterns used for collection of rain water and wells for drawing groundwater were very well developed since the Bronze Age. During historical times, Greeks and later Romans reached a high level of water supply technologies that greatly influenced modern achievements in water engineering and management.

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See also: http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/ws.2007.001

Our works referenced by this work:

1. D. Koutsoyiannis, N. Mamassis, and A. Tegos, Logical and illogical exegeses of hydrometeorological phenomena in ancient Greece, Water Science and Technology: Water Supply, 7 (1), 13–22, 2007.
2. D. Koutsoyiannis, N. Zarkadoulas, A. N. Angelakis, and G. Tchobanoglous, Urban water management in Ancient Greece: Legacies and lessons, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management - ASCE, 134 (1), 45–54, doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2008)134:1(45), 2008.

Our works that reference this work:

1. C. Cudennec, C. Leduc, and D. Koutsoyiannis, Dryland hydrology in Mediterranean regions -- a review, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 52 (6), 1077–1087, doi:10.1623/hysj.52.6.1077, 2007.
2. N. Mamassis, and D. Koutsoyiannis, A web based information system for the inspection of the hydraulic works in Ancient Greece, Ancient Water Technologies, edited by L.W. Mays, 103–114, doi:10.1007/978-90-481-8632-7_6, Springer, Dordrecht, 2010.
3. D. Koutsoyiannis, Reconciling hydrology with engineering, Hydrology Research, 45 (1), 2–22, doi:10.2166/nh.2013.092, 2014.
4. D. Koutsoyiannis, and A. Patrikiou, Water control in Ancient Greek cities, A History of Water: Water and Urbanization, edited by T. Tvedt and T. Oestigaard, 130–148, I.B. Tauris, London, 2014.
5. Y. Markonis, A. N. Angelakis, J. Christy, and D. Koutsoyiannis, Climatic variability and the evolution of water technologies in Crete, Hellas, Water History, 8 (2), 137–157, doi:10.1007/s12685-016-0159-9, 2016.

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Other works that reference this work (this list might be obsolete):

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Tagged under: Ancient science and technology, Hydrosystems