The Cloaca Circi Maximi or Cloaca Circi was one of the two main sewers in ancient Rome. Alongside the

Cloaca Maxima The Cloaca Maxima ( lat, Cloāca Maxima, lit. ''Greatest Sewer'') was one of the world's earliest sewage systems. Its name derives from Cloacina, a Roman goddess. Built during either the Roman Kingdom or early Roman Republic, it was constructed ...

History

The Cloaca Circi Maximi was built in the Augustan Period to clear

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

of unhealthy bodies of water. It was originally a small stream fed by various sources from around the

Porta Capena Porta Capena was a gate in the Servian Wall in Rome, Italy. The gate was located in the area of Piazza di Porta Capena, where the Caelian Hill, Caelian, Palatine Hill, Palatine and Aventine Hill, Aventine hills meet. Probably its exact position ...

right through the valley between the Palatine Hill and Aventine Hill, running down to the

river Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

. According to tradition, games and horse races were held in this valley from right after the founding of Rome in the 8th century. Over the centuries the

Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and l ...

was built over the stream, with a channel named Euripus running across it halfway and two bridges carrying the track over it. This sewer would drain the area around the Circus Maximus. It also served as the ''spina'' down the middle of the track. Under

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

and

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

the circus and its surroundings were greatly enlarged, covering over the channel, which became a sewer. It was connected to a tunnel modelled on that of the

and now terminated on the Tiber upstream of the Cloaca Maxima. Later in the sewer's history it was connected to

culverts A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdo ...

around the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

and maybe the

Baths of Caracalla , alternate_name = it, Terme di Caracalla , image = File:Baths of Caracalla, facing Caldarium.jpg , caption = The baths as viewed from the south-west. The caldarium would have been in the front of the image , coordinates = ...

. The Torre della Moletta, or Tower of Moletta was built upon the ruins of the Cloaca Circi Maximi.

References

Bibliography

''Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia''
p 446 *L. Richardson, jr, ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', Baltimore - London 1992. pp.84. {{ISBN, 0801843006 Ancient Roman sewers in Rome Sewerage History of water supply and sanitation