The aqueduct and its context : the case of North Africa. Vol. 1, Text [Ressource électronique] / Ryan Hughes

Master of arts : Classical archaeology : Tufts University : 2007

Bibliogr. p. 251-267

Since the first aqueduct studies were carried out in Rome during the Renaissance, there has been a preoccupation with the cultural impact water supply had on the Mediterranean world during the Roman period. The potency of this view has elevated the aqueduct to the position of cultural icon, heralding Rome's domination wherever it is found. This view limits our understanding of water supply in the ancient world by focusing too narrowly on urban aqueducts and largely ignoring water supply carried out extra muros Primarily concerned with the acquisition and supply of water for urban centers, contemporary study of aqueducts almost completely ignores the interaction between the aqueduct and the landscape over which it traveled. Environmental factors dictated every aspect of the aqueducts construction from the water requirements of the local populace to the form the aqueduct took. Assessing the relationship between the ancient aqueduct and its environment is essential to understanding water supply in the ancient world. To this end a gazetteer of all the known aqueducts in North Africa was constructed both to take stock of our current knowledge about aqueducts and as the foundation upon which a GIS study of aqueducts can be developed. This paper provides the theoretical groundwork necessary to develop a GIS capable of aiding in the identification and analysis of ancient aqueducts. Discussion of the use of GIS in reconstructing aqueduct courses and distribution networks, in analyzing what factors influenced the choice of source and destination and in general to understand the aqueducts impact on the environment is illustrated with examples from the gazetteer.