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Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome
About this book
While the remains of its massive aqueducts serve as tangible reminders of Rome's efforts to control its supply of drinking water, there are scant physical reminders that other waters sometimes raged out of control. In fact, floods were simply a part of life in ancient Rome, where proximity to the Tiber left a substantial part of the city vulnerable to the river's occasional transgressions.
Here, in the first book-length treatment of the impact of floods on an ancient city, Gregory S. Aldrete draws upon a diverse range of scientific and cultural data to develop a rich and detailed account of flooding in Rome throughout the classical period.
Aldrete explores in detail the overflowing river's destructive effects, drawing from ancient and modern written records and literary accounts, analyses of the topography and hydrology of the Tiber drainage basin, visible evidence on surviving structures, and the known engineering methods devised to limit the reach of rising water. He discusses the strategies the Romans employed to alleviate or prevent flooding, their social and religious attitudes toward floods, and how the threat of inundation influenced the development of the city's physical and economic landscapes.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Floods and History
- One: Floods in Ancient Rome: Sources and Topography
- Two: Characteristics of Floods
- Three: Immediate Effects of Floods
- Four: Delayed Effects of Floods
- Five: Methods of Flood Control
- Six: Roman Attitudes toward Floods
- Conclusion: The Romans’ Failure to Make Rome Safe from Floods
- Appendix I: List of Major Floods at Rome, 414 BC–AD 2000
- Appendix II: The Modern Tiber Embankments
- Appendix III: A Note on Hydrological Sources
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index