Ballıgerme was part of a
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 ...
that provided water for the people of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. It was destroyed by treasure hunters in 2020.
History
The aqueduct was located in
Çatalca
Çatalca (Metrae; ) is a city and a rural district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the largest district in Istanbul by area.
It is in East Thrace, on the ridge between the Marmara and the Black Sea. Most people living in Çatalca are either farmers or ...
district in
Istanbul province, in the
Istranca mountains.
Ballıgerme was one of the tallest bridges of the aqueduct. According to ''Interesting Engineering'', "broad vaulted masonry channels, 90 large, stone and concrete bridges, and tunnels up to 3 miles (5km) were all part of the design."
After Constantinople was made the capital of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
in 324 AD, the aqueduct was built in 373 by
Emperor Valens to supply the city from water springs about 60 kilometers to the West. "As the city grew, this system was expanded in the 5th century to springs that lie even 120 kilometers from the city in a straight line. This gave the aqueduct a total length of at least 426 kilometers, making it the longest of the ancient world."
Scientists at
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
(JGU) who were investigating the design of the aqueduct "found that the entire aqueduct system only contained thin carbonate deposits, representing about 27 years of use",
indicating that the aqueduct must have been cleaned. The researchers discovered that "50 kilometers of the central part of the water system is constructed double, with one aqueduct channel above the other, crossing on two-story bridges. ... It is very likely that this system was set up to allow for cleaning and maintenance operations"
In 2020, the bridge was blown up with dynamite by "treasure hunters who erroneously believed they could find gold in the ruins."
Çatalca Culture and Tourism Association President Ahmet Rasim Yücel told ''
Sözcü
''Sözcü'' (English: ''Spokesperson'') is a popular Turkish daily newspaper. ''Sözcü'' was first published on 27 June 2007 by Burak Akbay and is distributed nationwide. As of June 2018, it is one of the top-selling newspapers in Turkey, with ...
'' newspaper that "according to the rumors that are spoken among the people and which are not original, the people who made these works put gold between the stones and asked the people to use them in times of absence.This unfounded gossip is dragging people here. They are tearing up these historical artefacts with fake treasure maps in their hands."
See also
*
Aqueduct of Valens
References
External links
Ballıgerme Aqueduct
{{Roman aqueducts
Roman aqueducts
Istanbul Province
Constantinople
Roman aqueducts outside Rome
Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Turkey
Aqueducts in Turkey