Olba Aqueduct is a ruined
Roman aqueduct in
Mersin Province
Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of f ...
, southern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
The aqueduct is in
Silifke
Silifke ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia'', la, Seleucia ad Calycadnum) is a town and district in south-central Mersin Province, Turkey, west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of Çukurova.
Silifke is near the Mediterranean co ...
ilçe
The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the ''kaza''.
Most provinces bear the same name as their respectiv ...
(district) of Mersin Province at . It is about east of the sacred place of
Diokaesareia (now called
Uzuncaburç town) and close to the capital of
Olba Kingdom (a local kingdom).
The aqueduct was commissioned by the
Roman emperor Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
(193–211) in 199. On the inscription it reads "the city of Olba residents". The aqueduct underwent repairs during the reign of Byzantine emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...
(527–565) in 566.
The aqueduct is mostly demolished. A part of it can be seen to the west of the agora ruins. It is a double tier aqueduct. Its height is and its length over a valley next to the city is . There are observation towers around the aqueduct. The source of the watercourse is
Limonlu River
The Limonlu River ( grc, Λάμος ''Lamos''; Latin: ''Lamus''), also known as ''Gökler Deresi'', is a river of ancient Cilicia, now in Mersin Province, Turkey.
The river rises at Yüğlük Dağı in the Taurus mountains and flows through deep ...
also known as Lamas River around the village of
KızılgeçitYoldaolmak (traveller's page )
/ref> which is about to the northeast.
See also
*List of aqueducts in the Roman Empire
This is a list of aqueducts in the Roman Empire. For a more complete list of known and possible Roman aqueducts and Roman bridges see List of Roman bridges.
Aqueducts in the Roman Empire
See also
* List of aqueducts
Map of Roman Aqueduct i ...
*List of Roman aqueducts by date
This is a list of aqueducts in the city of Rome listed in chronological order of their construction.
Ancient Rome
Modern Rome
* Acqua Vergine Antica
** built in 1453
** source: springs in Salone, east of Rome
** length: ; underground from ...
*Ancient Roman technology
Roman technology is the collection of antiques, skills, methods, processes, and engineering practices which supported Roman civilization and made possible the expansion of the economy and military of ancient Rome (753 BC – 476 AD).
The Roma ...
* Roman engineering
References
{{Mersin Province
Roman aqueducts outside Rome
Aqueducts in Turkey
History of Mersin Province
Silifke District
Ruins in Turkey
Infrastructure completed in the 2nd century