Aqua Anio Novus (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "New Anio aqueduct") was an ancient

Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mining o ...

. Like the

Aqua Claudia Aqua Claudia ("the Claudian water") was an ancient Roman aqueduct that, like the Aqua Anio Novus, was begun by Emperor Caligula (37–41 AD) in 38 AD and finished by Emperor Claudius (41–54 AD) in 52 AD. Together with Aqua Anio Novus, Aqua ...

, it was begun by emperor

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

in 38 AD and completed in 52 AD by

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

, who dedicated them both on August 1. Together with the

Aqua Anio Vetus The Aqua Anio Vetus was an ancient Roman aqueduct, and the second oldest after the Aqua Appia. It was commissioned in 272 BC and funded by treasures seized after the victory against Pyrrhus of Epirus. Two magistrates were appointed by the Senate, t ...

Aqua Marcia The Aqua Marcia ( it, Acqua Marcia) is one of the longest of the eleven aqueducts that supplied the city of Rome. The aqueduct was built between 144–140 BC, during the Roman Republic. The still-functioning Acqua Felice from 1586 runs on long ...

and Aqua Claudia, it is regarded as one of the "four great aqueducts of Rome."

Route

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...

describes its source as "at the forty-second milestone on the Via Sublacensis in Simbruibe territory, from the Anio River, which flows muddy and turbid even without the bad effect of rain, since it has cultivated and such lands around it, and as a result, quite loose banks". Its flow at the intake was a day. The aqueduct was split into two channels above Tivoli and combined again near Gericomo. From its filtering tank near the seventh milestone of the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...

, it was carried on the arches of the Aqua Claudia, in a channel immediately superposed on the latter. It terminated at a great tank on the Esquiline Hill near the temple of Minerva Medica. The Aqua Anio Novus was the highest level of all the aqueducts that came into ancient Rome. As the water was prone to be

turbid Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can ...

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

made use of additional sources from the two uppermost of the three lakes formed by

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

for the adornment of his villa at Subiaco, thus lengthening the aqueduct to 58 miles and 700 paces. The lakes were created by

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

s in the river, and were the tallest of any built by the Romans. They were swept away by the river in the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

period. It was built of

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

and brick.Bono, P. and Boni, C. "Water Supply in Rome in Antiquity and Today". ''Environmental Geology'' 27 (1996). p. 131 Before the reforms, the aqueduct was freely used to supply the deficiencies of other aqueducts, and being turbid, rendered them impure. It is described in some detail by Frontinus in his work published in the later first century, ''

De aquaeductu ( en, On aqueducts) is a two-book official report given to the emperor Nerva or Trajan on the state of the List of aqueducts in the city of Rome, aqueducts of Rome, and was written by Sextus Julius Frontinus at the end of the 1st century AD. It ...

''.

References

External links

Subiaco Roman damsTravertine reveals ancient Roman aqueduct supply
{{Coord, 41, 53, 29, N, 12, 30, 55, E, display = title Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century Ancient Roman aqueducts in Rome 50s establishments in the Roman Empire 1st-century establishments in Italy Claudius Caligula 52 establishments

Route

See also

References

External links