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Vitruvius’s Description of Water-Supply Systems Vitruvius’s Description of Water-Supply Systems
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Thalame—the Siphon System Thalame—the Siphon System
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The Castellum The Castellum
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Aqueducts Aqueducts
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Nymphaea—Fountains Nymphaea—Fountains
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Cataracta—Sluice Gates Cataracta—Sluice Gates
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Piping Piping
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Channels Channels
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Drainage and Sewage Drainage and Sewage
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Sewers Sewers
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Drains Drains
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Summary of the Sewage System Summary of the Sewage System
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Notes Notes
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1289 Water Supply, Sewage, and Drainage
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Published:February 1999
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Abstract
It is well known that Erez Yisrael was not blessed with a plentiful supply of water. Other than the narrow winding Jordan, there are few rivers in the country and hardly any fresh water lakes, other than the Sea (!) of Galilee and Huleh Lake (which virtually no longer exists). Consequently, the cities, which required an abundant and regular flow of water, relied mostly on wells and on rainwater trapped in numerous small private and public cisterns. Fountains (springs) might have been situated at considerable distances from the city, and water would have been transported via an open canal (such as in present-day Wadi Kelt between Jerusalem and Jericho), through a closed piping system, which sometimes spanned hills and valleys for many miles, or by aqueducts (such as those near Caesarea). There were also large underground water systems with vent pipes surfacing at regular intervals to relieve water and air pressure and to enable workers to inspect and clear out the silt deposits and other obstructions (witness the magnificent complex bringing water to Jerusalem through the adjacent Armon ha-Naẓiv). There were also overhead pipes made of lead, earthenware, or at times even wood that were laid out carefully above ground, taking advantage of the lay of the land and using gravitational force to transport water over a great distance from a source high in the hills to a city situated low on the plains. Such piping systems required considerable sophistication in planning and construction, not only in choosing optimal routes but also in calculating water pressures and the strengths and diameters of piping units, in placing air vents to relieve excessive pressure, and in installing sludgecocks for removing silt deposits and for filtering the water. A detailed description of different water-supply systems can be found in the work of the great first century C.E. Roman architect Vitruvius in his De Architectura.
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